What is Communication?
Isn’t it interesting how sometimes the most common things are the most difficult to define? If you were to ask ten people “What is communication?” I’m sure there would be at least ten (if not more) different answers!
A seminar I attended a few weeks back saw that question posed to us in the audience. Some people stood to express their understanding, and the more people that stood and spoke their ideas, the more people stood to refute, enhance or to redefine the comments that had been before. For something as common as communication, it appears we all have a different idea on what it is, and how to best do it.
In some follow up research, I found a site that I think defines communication rather well. The site is ‘skillsyouneed.com” and the link for the communication page in particular is here. While their “communication” page I feel is short on content, their page on “interpersonal communication” outlines some great thoughts on successful communication.
Items in the list include…
- Verbal Communication
- Non-verbal communication
- Listening Skills
- Negotiation
- Problem Solving
- Decision Making and
- Assertiveness
They also have a self assessment you can complete to discover your strengths and weaknesses in interpersonal communication.
What I find fascinating about all of this, is that above all, we have our own interpretation on what successful communication is… and if this is the case, don’t we all then have our own interpretation on how to drive, the best way to fold fitted sheets, how to make the perfect cake, the best authors or movie directors, or even how to iron shirts (if at all!).
May I then suggest that communication of any sort is simply trying to assist someone else in understanding our perception of the topic while as much as possible trying to understand theirs.
What does communication mean to you?