Communication Lite

Communication is not without its heavy lifting. There are the sender of a message and the receiver of it. Mixed in with that fundamental dynamic are deliberations on how best and in what format to send the message and then, ultimately, the interpretation of it. Once done, what follows is the response or feedback that follows the same steps except in reverse. This continues and before you know it there is ongoing communication that hopefully results in a meaningful connection between entities or publics. (Not to mislead any one, that party pooper called "noise"also inserts itself into this flow from time to time. Its presence can and does interfere with or, at times, sabotages the process.

That, in a nutshell, is how communication works. Simple. Right? Well, yes and no. The challenge is to be able to successfully repeat this process and take the right measure to make sure nothing gets in the way. But if it is so straightforward, how come so often communication missteps occur? To answer that, I will use an analogy that involves my favorite sport: baseball. What's could be less complicated than hitting a baseball? The pitcher throws the ball and the batter swings the bat and hits it. Right? The truth is if the execution were really that easy, then everyone would end up in the hall of fame.

Successful communication, like hitting a baseball, requires sustained concentration and follow-through. It is no accident that since its inception, the measure of a good hitter has been anyone with a batting average of at least 300. That's three hits out of every ten times at bat. In other words, good hitters fail to get a hit seven out of every ten times. Would you believe good communicators have an average that's even lower? The trick, then is for all of us to keep practicing and working hard at making a solid connection.