What is our universal language? . Let's imagine for a moment when we communicate sadness to someone who does not speak our language. When they see our tears or when they hear the catch in our voice, what do they understand? Here are a few tips to help you improve your communication.
What is our universal language? By universal, I mean the language we all understand. By we, I mean not just the human species but also the animal species. Let's imagine for a moment what goes through our dog's head when we speak in a commanding voice. The command in our voice communicates a message to the dog. He learns to stop and pay attention to what we are saying. Often he understands what to do. Let's imagine for a moment when we communicate sadness to someone who does not speak our language. When they see our tears or when they hear the catch in our voice, what do they understand?
By now, perhaps you have answered that question - what is the universal language. The answer is the language of feeling. Our feelings communicate to all beings what is going on inside us. If we feel desperate, we show that desperation and others understand. If we feel joy, we jump up and down, we smile, and we glow. Our joy is there for all to see and understand.
It's amazing to me how much we communicate. I'm also amazed at how much we miss. Sometimes I believe we communicate better with people (or beings) who do not speak our language. In those instances we do not assume they understand. We pay more attention to what we do and how we do it. We pay more attention to what they say and how they say it.
This message suggests that the better we know one another, the harder it is to communicate. That truth is one of the many paradoxes of communication. Think about the trouble we have communicating with our children or with our parents. Think about the marriages that dissolve because people say, "We just couldn't communicate."
If we can communicate with our dogs, why can't we communicate with our spouses? What kinds of things get in the way?
Here are a few tips to help you improve your communication:
· Assumptions hide true communication. When we assume what someone is thinking or feeling we miss the message. That does not mean you shouldn't assume things. You will. What it does mean is you must learn to catch yourself and check out what you see and hear.
· Pay close attention to nonverbal messages. Our feelings come through our non-verbals and they are often subtle. When people do not have a common language, they raise their antenna to read non-verbals. We should keep that antenna raised at all times, particularly when we are communicating with people closest to us.
· Learn what your own messages, both verbal and non-verbal communicate. Watch how others respond. Are you being clear or vague? How can you make your messages clearer for others?
· Test what you can see and hear. If you believe you see happiness, ask. If you believe you see fear, ask.
· Learn the things that block you from reading other people's messages. Are you stressed? Are you in so much of a hurry that you can't take the time to read others? Are you focused on yourself and not others? What kinds of things blind you from seeing what others are "not" saying?
Find out more about your own communication. Rate your NonVerbal Antenna by taking this free assessment: http://www.totalcommunicationscoach.com/rate_your_nonverbal_antenna.htm
Social Savvy Means Time Management
How can you budget for social media time? People keep asking me how they can add social media to their already packed daily schedule. They fear that employees will be using their work time to Tweet about personal things or to talk to their friends on Facebook. One of the biggest complaints I hear from salespeople as well as CEO’s relates to time. Here are some time-saving tips!
5 Tips to Use Social Media to Sell without Selling
What is your Social Media IQ? We all know about traditional means to market our products. We know about advertising, branding, finding our niche. What we do not yet understand is the power of the social media in all this. The point of it all is to sell without appearing to sell. Here are some tips for using the social media to help you sell without “selling.”
Tips to Open the Floodgates with Social Media
How can businesses open the floodgates? Is there a strategy for involving customers in your business decisions? Tannebaum and Schmidt (1970) created a model based on participation and authority, theorizing that as you give more participation to groups in the decision-making process, you give up authority or control. This model presents a new way to think about how much customer involvement you want and how the social media might play a role in that involvement. It gives us some tips for developing a strategy for opening the floodgates.
