Transcript for this weeks message

Today in part three of my series on communication, we're going to talk about how to communicate. Like everything, being a good communicator begins with being intentional. So, let's talk about that just for a minute.

Last week we talked about getting clear on what it is want to convey. The next step is thinking through how to get it done. If you skip this step and go about it without taking the time to think it  through, the odds of you being happy with the result is pretty damn low. Now, if you're thinking to  yourself, how are you going to have time to think through when someone's either bleeding or on fire? You're listening to the wrong newsletter. There's a place for you, but this isn't it. Obviously, some communications need to be made immediately if it really is that urgent.

The truth is, most of the time, we just don't take the time to think it through, and then we're unhappy with the result that we get. So, let's talk about this idea of conveyance.

For today's purposes, what I mean by conveyance is how much of what you attempted to communicate was received as you intended. In part, the amount of communication is dependent on the form of communication. For example, typed or written messages such as text, email, or even written letters have the lowest amount of conveyance for obvious reasons.

These kinds of messages are wide open to interpretation and largely dependent on assumptions. If you take the time to use an expansive vocabulary, descriptive and complete sentences, and expressive and correct punctuation, you have much better odds of being understood in text. On the other side of the coin, if you're sending a text message to someone over 70, and you're using misspelled and incomplete words, tons of acronyms, and modern-day slangs such as "brugh" and "bussin" don't expect much conveyance.

The next form of communication is hearing. If you hear a communication as in a phone call, you automatically increase conveyance because like right now with you and me, you can hear my voice, you can hear my pause, my volume, and when I emphasize words. So you're able to get a better understanding of what I’m trying to convey. Now you can get some of that done in messaging by using capitalization, punctuation like exclamation marks, but you're still assuming that someone is going to take the correct meaning. It's almost never as good as when they hear it. Lastly, if you see someone and hear someone, you have the highest conveyance because if you're watching me now, you see my body language, you hear my voice. This form of communication offers the highest amount of conveyance.

So, the point I'm hoping to convey to you today is that if you take a minute to think this through and act on it, you will have less wasted time, less frustration, because people will understand more of what you want them to.

Form a habit of thinking through the best way to convey your message. Ask yourself if you need to schedule time to see their eyes because it's that important. Or is it something that you can type into your phone because it's not that critical?

Important or not, live with intention and do what you do on purpose. The reason is you'll be happier with your results. And the reason I want you to be happier with your results is because I know that You Are Destined For Greatness.