Communicate

I have a George Bernard Shaw quote up in my office that reads ‘the single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.’

It’s so true! Miscommunication and misunderstandings that go unclarified can cause so much stress at work and at home – often so unnecessarily.

When we are busy, tired, distracted, or unsure about how our message might be received we take short cuts with our communication. When talking, we expect that others think like us and can see what we see and how we see it. When listening, we make assumptions about what the other person is saying rather than listening properly. We try to fill in the blanks, even if there are no blanks to fill.

Ever made a negative assumption about what a friend, colleague, or one of your kids said… or didn’t say… that led to, at best some stress, at worst a damaged relationship?

Ever thought someone knew what you were trying to say but they didn’t get the hint? They didn’t reciprocate or follow through on what you had said.

These communication challenges make up the plots of almost all romantic comedies and dramas. Entertaining on the screen, but less so when it’s your social and work life on the line. Especially in light of the importance of social networks we explored last month.

So what can we do about it? Are some people just better communicators than others and that’s that?

A lot.

Yes.

And no.

Communication skills are just that. Skills. To be practiced and improved.

If you’re keen to find out how you can communicate effectively and positively with others then our latest installment in The Resilience Toolkit eCourse Module 8: Communicate, is for you.

Next month, we are talking about finding your passion and what gives your life meaning. Helping people find their ‘why’ is totally my why. I’m really looking forward to it!

See you then,

Juliet

Get the complete 12 Module eCourse…

At AwesoME Inc we have created The Resilience Toolkit eCourse and are currently releasing one module per month direct to you. Starting in January we introduced to you our Resilience Toolkit with Module 1: an Introduction, in which I asked you to do a resilience stock-take. If you haven’t already signed up to receive this FREE Module to begin your journey, you can do so here.

In Module 2, we started focusing on the theme of RELAX, where I show you how to get familiar and regularly practicing two of the easiest and most well researched relaxation techniques – Breathing & Guided Meditation. The RELAX theme is continued in Module 3, with how to calm your mind using Mindfulness and again in Module 4 where we go in depth into the practice of Gratitude.

Next Module 5 introduces you to the theme of MOVE with Move Fast and continued in Module 6 with Move Slow.

Our next theme of ENGAGE started with Module 7: Social Connection where we learnt how to build on our social connected-ness and our latest installment, Module 8: Communicate, shows us how we can communicate effectively and positively with others.

More information about The Resilience Toolkit eCourse HERE