Transcript for this weeks message

Welcome to part two of this series on communication.

Today's  subject  is knowing  what  to communicate.  As  simple as  this  sounds, the  truth  is, one  of  the biggest  reasons  for poor  communication  and misunderstandings  is  our failure  to  actually ask  ourselves  this question.

What  is  it I  want  to communicate?  The  first step  is  getting clarity.  It's  important not  to  make assumptions.  Never  assume that  because, in  your opinion,  you  implied something  that  it was  understood.  This will  always  get you  in  trouble. For  example,  if someone  asks  you to  go  to dinner  on  Friday night  and  you say, "I'm  not  sure how  late  I'll be  working  on Friday,"  do  not assume  that  you've communicated  anything  other than  what  your words  actually  are. You  didn't  communicate that  you'll  check your  schedule  or get  back  to them. You  didn't  communicate that  you'll  let them  know.  You didn't  communicate  that you  wanted  to go  or  that you  did  not want  to  go. You  didn't  communicate that  you're  interested. You  shouldn't  assume that  you  communicated anything  other  than what  your  words said.

You  did  not directly  answer  the question.  What  you said  may  have been  taken  as unrelated.  You  may have  not  even given  a  clue as  to  whether or  not  you want  to  go to  dinner. These  kinds of  indirect  answers are  a  perfect setting  for  miscommunications  and eventually  hurt  feelings. And  by  the way,  why  are you  expecting  someone to  come  up with  something  inside your  head  that you've  given  them no  clue  as to  what  you mean  with  your words?

They're  not  Sherlock Holmes  and  you're not  the  mystery murderer.  So,  quit dropping  clues  and tell  them  what you're  talking  about. Use  your  words. Let's  come  back to  the  point here. Think  about  what you  want  to communicate  and  ask yourself  what  the best  way  is to  say  it. The  main  point about  knowing  what to  communicate  is being  intentional  with your  words. It  doesn't have  to  be a  lot  of words  and  as  a  matter of  fact,  the number  of  words has  nothing  to do  with  the clarity  of  the communication.  The  way to  get  good at  this  is to  begin  to develop  a  habit of  asking  yourself, "What  do I  want  to communicate?  What  do I  want  to  be  understood?"  Ask yourself  that  question, answer  the  question, then  make  the communication.

In  the  beginning, you  may  be correcting  a  lot of  communications  that you've  already  made, and  that's  okay. You  don't  have to  get  it right  the  first time.  It's  not so  important  that your  communications  are clear  initially. It  is important  that  you recognize  when  they are  unclear,  and that  you  go back  and  clear them  up.  Develop the  habit  of asking  yourself  what it  is  you want  to  communicate. This  is a  little  question that  is  enormous.  If you  get  in the  habit  of routinely  asking  yourself this  question,  you will  save  countless amounts  of  time, energy, and  negative  feelings.

The  last  thing I  want  to communicate  with  you today  is  that  You  Are  Destined  For  Greatness.