The answer would seemingly be yes…it’s tough to communicate clearly with others…especially when you aren’t clear in your own head about what you wish to convey.
The various challenges in a conversation look like this…
- This is what I meant…
- This is what I said…
- This is what was heard…
- This is what was understood…
That can generate dozens of different outcomes from what was intended. AND how do you know? Ask your significant other about a complex conversation you had the other day and tackle each of the 4 elements noted above. See how far you might have been from where you thought you ended up at. Be honest, open, and candid, and I believe you will be surprised.
So you can imagine how complex this all gets with clients that in most cases really are not even interested in hearing what you have to say, no less even attempting to understand what they think you thought you meant to say but really did not…get the circle here?
This all comes down to how do you get another person’s attention long enough to get them curious enough to actually hear you? Seems extremely difficult and complex. A lot of psychological nuances (say what?)…never mind. It seems tough. It is NOT!
It’s simple. In reality, most of the time, humans will only HEAR and UNDERSTAND what another person says when it interests, affects, or is about the “listener” directly. Don’t believe me, try having a conversation with the teenager in your house about most anything that you find interesting and see if you get more than a blank stare. Don’t fudge now and make it about video games or social media.
Over the last, going on 2 years now, we have embraced and learned huge lessons of the value of engaging with others. Our non-face-to-face mode has moved us to an understanding level that is really quite remarkable and very valuable to all involved. We have learned about conversations that matter to others most, and the goodness behind that. We have learned to focus our conversations outwardly. We have evolved in ways that we would not have tackled otherwise. And it is a GREAT thing. As we move forward into process evolution from where we are the greatness can remain if we choose to embody it. It is not face-to-face or video-based. It is human-based. As I have said before we do NOT have a SALES process. We have a HUMAN process of communication, understanding, and service. Build that into the CRMs of the world. Not software or hardware, but human ware!
Thoughts matter. Words matter. Actions matter. Make them all HUMAN and make them all clear, and make them all count. Your choice! It’s actually EASY!
OK, LET’S ROLL!
Mitch
