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Sunday, July 20, 2008

Communicatiing









Dear Reader,

I know that you know that good communications is the key to all understanding. I know that you agree that good communications is of primary importance and is no less that 99% of all successful dealings between human beings. What I’m not certain of is whether we all understand what good communications fully involves.

The topic of communications is truly a very huge one. That becomes particularly apparent when we try to define what it is in a simple, easy to understand single sentence. I’m not certain that you will agree that I have succeeded with this attempt, but I define good communications between humans as “ the unambiguous transfer of thoughts, intentions, and facts.” In other words, I understood what you said and meant.

Communications is unavoidable in every thing we do and say, and is present in our very thoughts. It therefore follows that we should make the development of our communications skills a top priority. The reality is that most people rely on instinct to get us through the day.

One glance at the wealth of material provided by encyclopaedia as to this theme instantly shows the depth and width that is covered, so the only way to approach something this massive is by picking just a little bit to concentrate on at a time.

Communications between humans in our social setting is what I want to focus on at the moment. I believe that the following is probably more or less correct: communications between peer groups of the same gender are likely to be less troubled by misunderstandings. Between different generations the level of missed cues and frustrations rises dramatically. However, I reserve the highest level for built-in hazardous communications for men-women relations, whether in a business or purely social environment.

I think this is deliberate engineering by whoever designed the way of the world. It shows a very perverse sense of humour, and also provides us with an area of our greatest challenge.

In blogs to come we will discuss various aspects of communications, but for the present there are some guidelines that are generally accepted as being good advice.
· Keep your message short and simple. This is known as the KISS method.
· Think before speaking.
· Be clear in your choice of words, and speak without mumbling.
· In your dealings with your partner, transparency, openness and honesty pay great dividends. Also, it is a fact that your partner will fill in any blanks that you leave, and these will not always be what you would have wanted.

Next we will examine some differences between the thinking mechanisms of men and women.

Copyright © 2008 Eugene Carmichael