How "Effective" is Your Communication?

The George Bernard Shaw image quote accompanying this post references a problem many of us don't even know we have, poor (or ineffective) communication.

Now before you start getting all defensive (“My communication is excellent! Everyone understands what I’m saying.”), I’ll ask you to pause and seriously consider how many times over the last 12 months someone has misunderstood or misconstrued something you’ve said, texted, emailed, posted on social media, written in a letter and/or inserted into a PowerPoint slide deck.

If the answer is anything other than “zero times,” your ability to communicate effectively may not be quite as good as you think it is.

In response to that last sentence, some folks might be inclined to turn the tables and blame the people on the receiving end of their communication for any lack-of-or-mistaken understanding of the message they were attempting to deliver.

That’s fairly common when communication snafus occur (“It’s the other person’s fault. I couldn’t have made myself any clearer.”). And while blame-shifting may be the common way of dealing with a communication disconnect, it doesn’t address the real problem: The person delivering the message did so ineffectively.

Twenty or more years ago, I first encountered the expression, “The burden of effective communication rests squarely on the shoulders of the person delivering it.”

Can’t recall who said it or where I heard it, but I remember feeling a little indignant when its full meaning sunk in: I was responsible for ensuring that my message was understood by my intended recipient(s)! I could no longer blame others for not getting or, worse yet, completely misinterpreting my various communications.

Once my “resentment” – at being saddled with that responsibility – dissipated, I gradually came to terms with my newfound power.

While it admittedly kind of sucked in the beginning (nowhere near as exhilarating as Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, likely felt the first time he discovered he could climb the sheer walls of a New York City skyscraper with his bare hands), it forced me to become more precise in my choice of thoughts and the words used to convey them.

As time went by I became pretty good at it. Not perfect by any means, but adept to the point that these days my “audience” seldom misunderstands me, regardless of the form of communication I’m using.??

I encourage you to take on the same challenge.

Whether you’re in sales, management, customer service, manufacturing, maintenance or billing, the ability to communicate – using any/all of the previously referenced mediums – effectively is a skill that’ll pay you dividends many times over in the years ahead. Strive to become better at it!