A Group Effort

Effective communication at its best is not a solo act. While there may be only one person in front of a microphone, one person behind the boss' desk, one person in the spotlight or one person in front of a classroom, for that single man or woman to do what they are doing well, then there must be others involved. If you are a president or chief executive officer, then you need advisers to help you formulate policy and create talking points and staff members to help you judge the wisdom and success of your decisions. If you are a teacher, then you need students with which to engage and hopefully teach. If you are a singular individual, then you need others with which to interact and help you meet your needs. Collectively, these and other examples reinforce the reality that for communication to be effective, then it requires the active participation of more than one.

Too often we hear various individuals, often times public figures, praised as being good communicators. President Obama is an easy and timely example. Rightfully, he is is lauded as a solid speaker. Make no mistake, his skills in speech making and ability to handle unexpected questions deserve the praise they continue to receive. But every time he does speak, whether it is via prepared remarks or ones that are more off-the-cuff, The President is just the most visible piece of that communicating he is doing. We sometimes lose sight of the fact that as we watch him on television, for instance, the thoughts he is expressing - even though they are his own - are the results of input he has received from a wide of range of people and sources.

The same holds true for all of us. How and what we communicate are the result of all that we have gleaned from others. This reality, then, points to the notion of just how interdependent we all are even when it comes to times when we share our opinions, add our "two cents" to a conversation or attempt to shed light on a situation with facts. Bottom line: none of us are solo acts. It might be good for all of us to never lose sight of this truism as one way of helping keep us humble and even respectful on those occasions when we are disagreeing with others or are even trying to persuade them to see things our way. Yes, we may be articulate and we may even be able to draw upon facts and examples that others can not at that moment, but the fact is we could not do that without the help and input of others.