13th June 2012
`The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that
it has taken place'
George Bernard Shaw
While interacting with someone, have you ever said `I told you so, but you did not pay attention to what I said'?
A simple rule in effective communication is: it is the responsibility of the communicator to ensure that the content of the communication is understood; it is not the responsibility of the person receiving the communication. You need to own this responsibility. Next time you watch the television shows, notice how the media advertisement is presented. The company who shoots the advertisement episode will assume that the viewers are not interested in watching the footage and their entire focus will be on how to register the message in the mind of not just one viewer, but millions of viewers.
I remember what my father, who was a busy and successful lawyer, used to say. While arguing a case before a judge, he will assume that the judge is least interested in listening to his argument and this assumption will give him the mindset to improve the quality of his communication to capture the judge's attention. No doubt he was a successful lawyer.
Here is a simple exercise for you: next time you watch how a mother communicates with a child refusing to eat and how she convinces the child to eat! She owns the responsibility to ensure that the child understands. Obviously she has not read this piece on effective communication!
N C Sridharan
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