We all expect from others being listened to and interpreted correctly, but we never ask ourselves if, in the first place, we are capable of listening to someone.
Not everyone understands how important being able to communicate is and how it has impacted human history. At the beginning of time, about a half million years ago, the only ways Australopithecus could communicate were just their bodies and some kind of noises, adopted for satisfying their primary needs. For instance, the act of writing was born to solve a communication problem in Mesopotamian communities.
There is no possibility to create a relationship without effective communication, as we can see in every business. For example, an employee that is not well motivated and does not understand what he has to do could create problems with his boss or consumers. A further manager’s responsibility is understanding how to communicate a clear message to his employees. As I said before, there is no communication without a listener, every boss or manager needs to also listen to everybody’s point of view and make a decision that will meet customers wants and needs.
Choosing the best method to communicate is something that we all should consider well; in fact, it could happen that the way we prefer to communicate is not the best way to be given satisfying feedback.
Another crucial point is choosing the right moment to communicate something. Usually, the best thing to do is never hesitate to say something important, since time won’t fix anything, while decision and explanations will.
However, choosing the best method of communication between two or more people does not guarantee effective communication. There might be a problem of misunderstanding or disagreement between the sender and receiver of a message.
Since the twenty-first century, electronic and visual communication has improved a lot; nowadays it would be absurd to think about our lives without electronic devices, that allow us to be in touch with the whole world instantly. Anyway, overusing something never brings positive results; in fact, the possibility to share everything on the internet has brought a lot of disinformation and fake news that are now more and more difficult to identify.
All things considered, to have effective communication and avoid misunderstanding, it is decisive being able to put someone else’s shoes on, also on the internet.
Aurelia Daidone Figlioli
