Rolling Up Our Sleeves

As we move into a new year, the world's population is slightly higher than 7.2 billion people. Further, the United Nations projects by 2050 that number will grow to nearly 10 billion. The hard truth is that, with few exceptions, we cannot get away from each other. Everywhere we turn there is another person. Even on those days when we wish to avoid others we still have multiple encounters. And if we actually do go a full day with seeing another person, again with few exceptions, we will see definitive signs that we are not alone. That, in fact, is the bottom line truth: we are not alone. And in the coming decades we are going to be even less alone than we may be now. 

Given this reality, what this means is it is in the interest of all of us that we do a better job getting along. No matter one's political affiliation, religious doctrine, social preferences or geographic location, this fundamental truism is a challenge all of us share. To do this requires that we dedicate or in some cases rededicate ourselves to being the best communicators we can be. Writing this, I can almost see anyone who reads it roll their eyes. Such a statement, on the surface, may not be all that different than the pledge most of us make several times per year: "Tomorrow I'm going to start on a diet."

As go our communication abilities so goes the world. The less we get along the more difficult time we will have in sustaining our planet, not to mention the existence of all living creatures, including us, that inhabit it. Why this particular commitment requires we roll up our sleeves rather than giving it a passing nod is due to one certain truth about communication: most of our communication efforts fall short. This is true for professional communicators and the rest of us, too. All too often our communication overtures or strategies either fall short, are ignored, misinterpreted, or drown out by other communication efforts. That can be changed if we accept this communication challenge.