Moving Toward the Big Reward

So many of the more than eleven-hundred blog entries I have made since 2008 have focused on the concept of effective communication or communicating effectively. The essence of that revolves around the notion of two people interacting in a manner in which they establish a mutual understanding in a manner that is respectful and leaves each side open to further dialog. The challenge is found in devising and then embracing the best ways to achieve this under virtually any circumstance regardless of whether we are talking two people or two larger entities or even a combination of both.

Achieving such an end requires that we think beyond our personal goal simply imparting whatever message it is we wish to impart. Effective communicating goes beyond this. It calls for entities to also recognize and then strive toward achieving an understanding of whatever it is the other person or side is trying to communicate. In other words, effective communication involves both putting forth a coherent and even impactful message as well as actively listening to the public or publics with which one is attempting to connect. I recognized that doing both, to many and at times, is akin to juggling several plates while talking on the telephone at the same time. 

But doing both is doable, particularly if one recognizes the value of such effort and then enthusiastically strives to achieve it. Nearly one hundred years in 1922, the French novelist Marcel Proust captured such an attitude far better than I: "The only true voyage of discovery, the only fountain of Eternal Youth, would be not to visit strange lands but to possess other eyes, to behold the universe through the eyes of another." We have our perspectives and others have theirs. The more we can do to set the two side by side and decide upon ways to build-on whatever commonalities that exist and continue communicating, then the better is the reward for communicating effectively.