Communication

We can … virtually anywhere

Posted by HorrieM

We have platforms and people.

We have the devices and dreams.

We have the internet and innovation.

Applications and aspirations.

Interfaces and ideas.

We have networks and neurons.

We have technology and teams.

We can brainstorm and build.

We can share our art.

We can do projects.

We can connect.

Collaborate.

We can do business virtually anywhere.

Virtually.

Anywhere.

 

“The computer was born to solve problems that did not exist before.” – Bill Gates

“Technology is nothing. What’s important is that you have a faith in people, that they’re basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them.” – Steve Jobs

 

Learn from experience … and pass it on

Posted by HorrieM

There are those that have gone before you.

They have forged a path.

There are experiences to impart.

Knowledge to pass on.

Learnings to share.

Wisdom.

So, clarify and query.

Absorb and comprehend.

Listen and understand.

It will save a misstep.

Direct your energy.

Focus your efforts.

Then you get to forge your own path.

And be among those that have gone before others.

With experiences to impart and learnings to share.

 

“Is there anyone so wise as to learn by the experience of others?” – Voltaire

“Nothing speaks like results. If you want to build the kind of credibility that connects with people, then deliver results before you deliver a message. Get out and do what you advise others to do. Communicate from experience.” – John C. Maxwell, author of “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You” (among many, many other books).

 

We have communicated, right?

Posted by HorrieM

The presentation has been delivered.

Or the instruction provided.

There might have been messages and memos.

Announcements made.

Perhaps discussion.

Dialogue.

Deliberations.

Maybe posters.

Pamphlets.

Prints.

And still … there has been no communication.

The sender thinks there has.

The receiver does not.

The communication has not necessarily been received, simply because it has been sent.

Are you packaging your communication for the receiver?

 

“Great communication beings with connection.” – Oprah Winfrey

“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” – Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride

“The Princess Bride” by author William Goldman

 

Fix the communication pipe

Posted by HorrieM

There is a blockage in the pipe.

A kink in the line.

A short in the circuit.

The communication is not getting through.

There are mixed messages.

Vague instructions.

Unclear directions.

Ambiguity.

Contradiction.

Miscommunication.

Or simply none at all.

Go fix the pipe.

 

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” – George Bernard Shaw

“It’s the most talented, not the least talented, who are continually trying to improve their dialogue skills. As is often the case, the rich get richer.” – Kerry Patterson

 

Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High, by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler

Miss the misunderstandings

Posted by HorrieM

Much better to slow down than potentially miss.

Miss the communication.

Ratchet up the mode of interaction.

To miss the misinterpretation.

Move from text to voice.

From voice to virtual.

From online to in person.

From skimming to depth.

From efficient to effective.

From distraction to traction.

Do what it takes to communicate well.

Miss the miscommunication.

Miss the misunderstandings.

Otherwise it’s just … missed.

 

“Missed it by that much” – Maxwell Smart (Agent 86)

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” – George Bernard Shaw

 

That’s a “No” from me

Posted by HorrieM

If it does not resonate.

If you cannot absolutely commit.

If it’s a maybe.

If you’re not interested.

If your gut is telling you it doesn’t feel right.

If you’re doing it for the wrong reasons.

If you are not able to give it the time it deserves.

Don’t do it.

 

“If you’re not saying ‘Hell Yeah’ about something, say ‘No’.” – Derek Sivers

“Say no to many good things so you can say yes to a few great things.” – Greg McKeown, Author of “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less”

 

Bouncing it around to get unstuck

Posted by HorrieM

We all get stuck on occasions.

To get unstuck, sometimes you just need to …

… bounce an idea off someone.

… talk it through.

… brainstorm.

… pick someone’s brain.

… ask better questions.

… try explaining it.

… draw it.

… have a whiteboarding session.

(I love whiteboarding. The illustrations all began with a blue marker on a whiteboard.)

 

“Two heads are definitely better than one and by brainstorming as a team and sourcing ideas from each other, you have a better chance of coming up with a strategy that will allow your business to overcome a setback or challenge.”- Richard Branson

“When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this – you haven’t.” – Thomas Edison

 

It’s the simple things …

Posted by HorrieM

There is value in doing the simple things well.

Being extraordinary at doing the ordinary.

We tend to know what they are.

Arriving early.

Actively listening.

Using someone’s name.

Spelling someone’s name correctly.

Returning a call.

Cleaning up after yourself.

These may not seem like much at all.

Until they are not there.

Arriving late.

Being interrupted.

Forgetting someone’s name.

Spelling someone’s name incorrectly.

(You know when your name was last spelled incorrectly.)

(And you probably remember who it was.)

Unreturned calls.

Leaving a mess for others.

(Which inevitably leads to those office kitchen signs.)

If the simple and ordinary are not done well …

… what do we suppose for the complex and difficult?

 

“What is easy to do is also easy not to do.” – Jim Rohn

“Success is doing ordinary things, extraordinarily well.” – Jim Rohn

 

Have you gone to the source?

Posted by HorrieM

They think that is how it happens now.

There is an assumption it is done this way.

They presume this is what was said.

There is pure speculation.

They guess it was done correctly.

It may have been implied.

They suppose that’s right.

There is an inkling.

There is gossip and innuendo.

They suspect it is done like that still.

It was insinuated.

There is conjecture.

It has been based on hearsay.

So, before going any further.

Stop and find out.

Go find the source.

 

“Assumptions are made, and most assumptions are wrong.” — Albert Einstein

“Information is a source of learning. But unless it is organized, processed, and available to the right people in a format for decision making, it is a burden, not a benefit.” – William Pollard