The ability to communicate effectively and efficiently is a skill that not many people have and I know for myself that I struggle with that at times. There may be some close friends of mine that may be quick to attest to this struggle of mine. Some people may think they are good communicators because they are good at talking a lot. What is important to understand is that one must not confuse quantity of speech with quality of speech and even that is half the equation. The other half of the equation embodies a person’s ability to perceive through visual and auditory receptors how a person is receiving the message you sent. In my opinion some people are either good talkers or good listeners, few are a combination of both and then there are those that are just horrible at them all.
What I want to do is just take a step back for a moment because what I really wanted to talk about is the importance of communicating our goals so that we are clear as to how we go about achieving those desired results. I thought it was worth taking the time to divulge into the in workings of communication so that we better understand how to begin communicating our goals to others and ourselves. The crux of the matter is many times we find ourselves disappointed, letdown and frustrated because the results we were looking for were not achieved. What can be most frustrating is that when we are clear and concise in our delivery and we take the time to listen intently we still not get the results we were looking for.
What you want to remember is that no matter what you are doing you are always communicating whether it is verbal or non-verbal. When the communication event is intentional there is typically a purpose behind it. Whatever that purpose is be clear as to what your goals are and communicates those in a way that best represents the outcome you are looking for. Now that we are coming to the close of the school year I am faced with the challenge of preparing some of the kids I work with to go before a committee of administrators at the school. The students will have to articulate their goals as it pertains to the high school career and future. I am learning a lot about myself as I go through this process with these kids. I hope that we all get the results we are looking for.
