Adding Meat to Bone

Communication is all about communicating. Perhaps a better, less redundant way to say that is communication refers to the act of folks articulating and sharing ideas, information, and feelings with each other. That, of course, is no small thing. As social creatures, it is vital for all of us to be able to put forth messages as a way of expressing ourselves, connecting with others, and even making a difference in the challenging world in which we live. Without communication, not only would all of us exist in a state of virtual isolation, but the odds are that whatever lives we did have would not last very long.         

One fundamental role that professional communicators play revolves around helping individuals and organizations reach out to make necessary and desired connections in order to do more than survive: thrive. In other words, they help facilitate the physical act of communication. In addition, they also can and do help provide substance to what messages people emit. All of us, I am sure, have been around folks who talk a lot but rarely, if ever, have anything worth hearing. They put forth words but seem to lack the ability or interest to contribute insight of substance. Professional communicators can help with this.

Turning comments into messages of meaning and quality is not easy, of course. It requires thought, reflection and planning. Additionally, it calls upon communicators to have a solid base of knowledge from which to draw facts and insights required to transform mere words into communiques worth remembering. As part of their work, professional communicators - certainly ones of substance - make research a regular part of the process of how they go about serving clients and facilitating all forms of communication. Their research helps them turn babble or rambling into perspective that actually  advances exchange between people. Professional communicators can and do add meat to bone.