Public Speaking and Listening

There is one particular characteristic of a good writer that I have always found to be fascinating: good writers are avid readers. These men and women love the written word. It does not seem to matter  whether they themselves are the ones who are doing the composing or someone else is. Writing is what drives them: theirs or that of someone else. I find a similar trait with musicians. I cannot think of any musician who does not enjoy listening to music when they themselves are not either performing or composing it. Much like writers and the written word, it is part of who and even what they are.

For those such as press secretaries or organizational spokesmen who communicate primarily via the spoken word, I find the most effective ones to be those who are the best listeners. Does this seem odd? I think not. Public speakers able to connect with their audiences do so by knowing as much about their various publics as possible: their hopes, concerns, interests and current state. The best way to become well versed in these areas is by listening to what people are saying. Does this mean the speaker has to sit down with each member of the public and hear directly what they have to say? Of course not.  But it does mean he or she needs to collect as much data or information through as many sources as possible that provide them with deep insight. 

While it is obvious that two essential elements of the communication process are sending and receiving a message, it may not seem so clear that those wanting to be among the best at communicating need to do both well. This makes for a more complete communicator similar to being able to catch, throw and hit makes for a more complete baseball player. For communicators, it spells the difference between talking at versus talking with a group. People know when they are being talked at just as they know when someone is connecting with them. In each case, they respond accordingly.