Style and Substance

In a perfect communication world, when one communicates a message, not only does it have substance that is accurate and relevant but it is transmitted in a way that is appealing, engaging to the ear and/or eye, and motivational. I am not sure if this happens nearly as often as many of us might like to think. That observion is not meant as a criticism as the great majority of our messages occur with little prethought or planning.  Someone speaks to us and we respond. Someone asks us a question and we attempt to address it. We have a thought or make an observation and we attempt to share it. These communication acts, generally, happen on the spur of the moment or over the span of a few moments. How much style and/or substance goes into such acts?

My sense is many of us try to insert both elements into everything we communicate. I certainly do. Having said that, I confess that I fall short on both account much more often than I succeed. In fact, there are times when I speak that I know I am not hitting the mark as well as I would like. Yet when that happens I forge ahead and hope for the best. The fact I teach full-time at the univesity-level makes this confession all the more painful.  If I had to guess, I would say I am not alone in my self-assessment of my ability to successfully comebine style and substance while speaking. I suspect others view themselves in a similar manner.

With that, I have two generalizations: few of us feel as if we communicate as well as we wish and our ability to be both sustaniative and articulate when we do send out messages is also less than we would like. Given that commonality, it seems as if we should be as generous as possible in our assessment of others who fall short on both accounts much in the same way we feel we do. Whether it is presidential candidates or those not in the public arena, exhibiting style and substance simultaneously is not easy. Being more charitable in assessing others helps others communicate more effectively and enable us to be better listeners,