The Art of Communication

Communication is a skill I’m continuously working on. This quote resonated as sometimes I think I’m being clear but I’m not being understood.

I know that text and email are the worst ways to communicate as they lack body language and inflection, yet as a writer I enjoy connecting through the written word. I obviously love to write, for me it’s like sculpting with words, but what I enjoy most about it as a form of communication is that it allows me to go back and see what was actually said.

There are many times where what I heard (what I read) was not what the other person was saying, it was how my brain filtered the information. It’s been eye-opening for me to go back and look at specific emails or texts to reference what was actually said—how they phrased it—versus how I interpreted it as there can be a MAJOR disconnect at times.

Getting someone to repeat back what they heard (or me repeating back what I think I’ve heard), offering clarity when a misunderstanding or misinterpretation becomes evident, is a great communication skill.

Communication takes two. If I’m not being understood then I’m not communicating, I’m just talking. This has been a painful lesson.

And, in person communication continues to be the best way to connect as it takes place in real time with a lot more information to go off of. It’s easy to misinterpret the written word, especially if it’s not someone’s first language or forte (reading and writing are skills in and of themselves).

~Amy Frank

This blog was inspired by this quote (Author Unknown)