The illusion of communication...

"The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place."
George Bernard Shaw (Irish playwright, essayist and 1925 Nobel Prize winner)

Most of us feel that once we have said our piece or sent the email or submitted the report that communication has occurred. Shaw is correct - most of us think we have communicated well and yet, I hate to tell you, we are wrong much of the time. Truly, we are kidding ourselves.

There are three main components to effective communication:

1. Sending the message: Crafting the words and delivering the words
2. Receiving the message: Just because the message was sent does not mean it was received by the intended audience
3. Understanding the message: Just because the message was received does not mean it was understood

And here is the really hard part - if you are the person communicating, you have the primary responsibility for all three components. Surprised? Hey, it is your message...

So spend time on all three components - what you are going to say, how you will ensure that the message was received and understood. You might be surprised how challenging step 2 and 3 can be... When you ensure that all three components are working effectively, your overall rate of communication success will improve.

I'll talk more in future posts about how to optimize each step.

the communication guru