29 Aug - WOD

Communicate - to express thoughts, feelings, or information easily or effectively.

The preferential method of communication utilized by man is verbal communication. Most of us convey our ideas and opinions by way of conversation. There is a thin line however between effective and reckless verbal communication. For example, if your conversations often escalate into shouting matches, chances are... you're not getting your point across to the recipient of your tirades. Or if you have a habit of cursing uncontrollably, throwing tantrums, and talking down to people... rest assured your comments are not well received.

Effective communication exists only when two individuals agree to respectfully discuss a given topic. Only one person can effectively communicate at a time. If you are too impatient to hear your counterpart's soliloquy till the end, face it... you are not an effective communicator. Effective verbal communication requires a mutual respect for the opinions, thoughts, and ideas of the two parties involved in a given discussion. Regardless of whether the discussion turns heated or not... if there is a genuine level of mutual respect, each individual should be allowed an opportunity to speak, free of outbursts and interruptions.

Some people truly believe that their mood should determine the tone of a discussion. In other words, they reserve the right to talk to others like crap simply because they're upset and they disagree with the other person's outlook. That is ludicrous! A Muslim and a Jew could very well have a respectful conversation about religion. Despite their obvious conflicting views, if the two individuals agree to listen respectfully to the issues presented by one another, they each stand a pretty good chance of learning something new about the other individual's ideology. It's perfectly acceptable to walk away from a discussion agreeing to disagree. Effective communication does not guarantee that the two parties will see eye to eye. Effective communication does guarantee that both parties will be given the opportunity to convey an otherwise unknown vantage point to his/her audience.

If you are not a very effective verbal communicator, perhaps it might be a good idea for you start writing down your ideas before presenting them. This method may provide you with an opportunity to organize your thoughts to ensure that they are better received by your intended audience. Today, I recommend that you choose the thoughts you convey more carefully. You are so much smarter than your conversations indicate. Don't lead folk to believe that your vocabulary is limited strictly to four letter words. Be blessed.

Corey R.