The Art of Communicating

Good communication is as exciting as black coffee
and after that it’s just as hard to sleep.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh, “The Gift of the Sea”

The word chat comes from Latin communis or simple. We are talking about a common space that everyone shares, or a common university where everyone shares space. This indicates that two people or two groups have something in common, but in our world today I believe that communication has nothing in common. Many problems and disputes in the world can be explained by poor communication.

The dictionary defines communication as the transmission of information, thoughts or feelings in a way that is perceived or understood in a satisfactory way. As a working definition, we will consider successful communication when there is a common understanding among those who try to communicate.

So, what is the result of a general understanding? What are the consequences of a lack of common understanding? Does there be a common understanding of acceptance, openness and trust between individuals and groups?

I argue that while good communication does not guarantee the improvement of our lives, poor communication exacerbates bad situations and makes it difficult to build and maintain open and meaningful relationships in life.

So, the result of successful communication should be a deepening of understanding and, therefore, an improvement in relationships – and who does not need a better relationship?

Families, colleagues and governments need to improve communication. So let’s see what happens when we communicate, what the problems are and what we can do to improve our communication skills.

I. Elements of the communication process

Communication is a two-way street, and people tend to build their offerings according to busy language routes to maximize their chances of being understood. – Christopher Manning,
Stanford University

Communication is a process; that is, there are certain steps that can be explored. We will treat communication as an endless cycle. However, remember that watching the communication process is similar to suspending a VCR; you watch a frozen snapshot of a dynamic, endless process. It is often said that someone can communicate only if you are dead or unconscious; communication occurs – for better or for the better – when we try and when not.

A. Sender

The sender has something he wants to share with someone else. In our simplified model, the sender is a communicator. Unfortunately, the information about the sender is in his head. Although a lot of work has been done to prove extrasensory perception, for most of us we need to get the information we want to share from our minds and into the other person’s mind in a different way.

Beneficiary

The recipient is simply another person (a) with whom the sender is trying to communicate. We will find that the recipient has a number of obstacles that affect whether he comes to a common understanding or not. While the sender is responsible for making a clear message, the recipient has an additional responsibility to listen, listen and provide feedback.

C. Message

A message is not just a word. The message is a rich mix of thoughts, feelings, words and meanings. Even the sender, who says “it’s simple,” doesn’t realize the mixed nature of the message he wants to convey. Many communication problems arise because communication is simple.

D. Some ways to generate a signal

Speak clearly if you are already talking; cut every word
before dropping it.
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1809-1894)

The signal we’re talking about is how we encode a message in our head and send it to the recipient. We will see that it is not just the sound of words; it can include feelings, relationships and our unique personality. When you think about it, all communication is indirect because we use language tools and nonverbal communication to try to share what we are experiencing within ourselves.

E. Brain
I’d spend hours
Talking to flowers.
If only I had a brain.
Stranger in the Wizard of Oz

Our brains are rich and complex. All communications are filtered through our personality, origin, education, culture and current state. When you are tired, stressed or in unpleasant conditions, communication becomes much more difficult.

Common understanding

Speak correctly and as few words as possible, but always clearly;
because the end of speech is not an external spectacle, it needs to be understood.
William Penn

Let’s go back to our definition. The degree to which someone understands what we are trying to communicate depends on many factors. How similar are we? Do we share significant experience? Are our language skills, our views and beliefs similar? What assumptions have we made about each other based on stereotypes?

It is probably fair to say that the degree of understanding can be assessed on a scale from very well understood to completely misunderstood. And anyone who says, “I totally understand,” is probably wrong.

Comments

Comments in our template are the recipient’s responses, which are passed on to the sender. Comments force the sender to change their message to increase the chances that the recipient will understand it. Each of us had the feeling “that they have no idea what I’m trying to say.” How did we come to this conclusion? By interpreting the feedback created by the recipient. This feedback can be verbal or non-verbal.

Communication is blocked by noise

The noise factor can occur anywhere on the line of communication and can be of a physical, physiological or psychological nature.
William Brooks
“Voice connection”