I was talking to someone who has a job title as a Communication Specialist. And, if you’ve ever been around someone like this then you know they are somewhat an expert in the field of communicating a message to an audience. Writing. Speaking. Webinar. Audio. Whatever. There are certain ways to share but you often fail to grasp whether your message is received. A communicator is not always around to inspect the rewards of their skill.
But a good communicator knows that to understand that the message has been received, then they must do one of the hardest things for any of us – yield the floor to someone else for a while, and then pay attention to what is being shared or asked instead of trying to formulate a response while the listener is speaking! Like I said, Hard to Do!
Once you, as a communicator, hear and understand the other side of the coin, or the opposite viewpoint, then, and only then, can you truly communicate again to ensure your message is understood! Restating the message, clarifying a point, allowing for differences to exist. Here’s the key to being a great communicator:
A true communicator needs to listen, as well as speak. Share on XWhy? Communication given in one direction is simply a speech, a series of commanding statements, or a set of orders that flow from the communicator to the ears, eyes, and minds of the listener. The listener is expected to receive, understand and then do something with the information. But if there are points that need clarification, and the listener is not allowed to ask questions, then the results may be scrambled!
Why? We all come from different platforms of life and each has a specific way we grasp information, process it internally, and then prepare ourselves for action. Some may need to see a bullet point list that are succinct instructions to follow. Someone else may need to hear a general overview and can grasp the information and prepare themselves for action or response. Still, there are many others that want to see and hear the information before moving forward.
Then you have those that want the information presented in a tangible and material form because they need to feel it as something real, have you explain it multiple times with open times for questions. And still, they just might not comprehend!
Knowing your audience is very important! Knowing your presentation is super important!
In older times a communicator knew that there were sometimes great distances between the speaker and the listener. It was a slow time by mail, pony express or carrier pigeon to get the message (sometimes abbreviated) from one point to another. A soap-box in the town square was often the only way of standing above the heads of audiences and speaking, all the while hoping someone was listening and understanding.
In modern times we have instant communication and reception of the information, but we often lack the way to ask for clarification, make a rebuttal, or even to nod in agreement. But technology keeps opening the path for better communication.
When I write a blog, like today, I write striving for clarity of presentation, hoping I am presenting a well-crafted sentence, paragraph or posting. With the tools at my disposal, I still find myself having bungled a message and someone asks for clarity. This gives me time to review my message to see who well I understand it in light of a question. My “Preview” button puts it into a test mode so I can read it just like a stranger might, and I will often find mistakes and the need for clarification. If I read slowly! But I am a skimmer and I read the pages quickly. I may find grammar and spelling issues in your writings, but it’s often harder to find it on my own.
Why? I’m thinking the message in my mind and not proofing with my eyes and often miss mistakes I’ve made that you quickly catch.
A posting from last week is a case in point. A kind reader pointed out the misuse of a word:
I noticed that Meditating slipped into Mediating and carried through for a while. Easy enough to do when proofing it they are so close. I just notice things like that.
Both of the words were the correct spelling, but I was talking about meditating, and not mediating. Wait. Let me read this sentence again to see if I wrote it correctly! The absence of a “t” and the entire sentence made no sense. Grammarly did not even catch it the first time, and only identified the problem when I opened it up to check out the reader’s message. When I was proofing I knew what word I was using in my mind and simply glossed over the misused word!
This is why allowing for Questions at key points of a presentation are so valuable!
Jesus was a great communicator. At a young age, he slipped away from his family as they were traveling home and stayed behind in the temple. We find him sharing his style in the temple with learned men as his family found him:
Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. (Luke 2:46-47 NKJV)
Notice. Listening. Asking. And amazing everyone with his understanding and answers.
Perhaps this is the way we should all be in our communication. Barking orders and expecting the response to be in line with the orders may be fine in some settings, but as I was sharing recently, “Enquiring minds want to know!” The only way you can know is to ask, analyze, seek a response, and learn from the moment.
This is the job of a Communication Specialist! Of which we should all be one… Just saying!
Just a side note and only a few of you will know what I’m talking about. On the arches stretched over our church sanctuary at Life Tabernacle, 2950 Broadway, Houston. Texas… A form of these words was painted on the arch close to the altar at the front of the sanctuary and I see them in my mind and realize that what we experienced there was the ultimate in communications between the audience, speaker, and God.
One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple. (Psalms 27:4 NKJV)
This teaches me that the House of God is a place where Communication Specialist should thrive. Preparing. Presenting. Listening. Explaining. Over and over until everyone comprehends the message of a Christian Life. This is why I always like to take time for “questions and comments” at the end of a bible study, and especially on Wednesday night. This is when I’m communicating a message for us to grow thereby, and if there are questions, comments, insights, or complaints, then this is the time to HEAR, LISTEN and RESPOND>
Welcome to my world as a Communication Specialist.