Читать книгу A Mind of Your Own - Betty Shine - Страница 37

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Communication

To do good and to communicate forget not.

THE BIBLE, HEBREWS

THE ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE is society’s life-support system. Without it, we are lost.

Modern technology enables us to link with people around the world, and to access information in a few moments. Unfortunately, it can easily become a substitute for communication on a one-to-one basis. There is no substitute for the real thing.

The voice itself is magic, and can change the meaning of a single word by the way it is expressed. This, with the added vibration of the spoken word, can make one laugh or cry. There is no substitute when it involves the emotions – sympathetic words of comfort, words of wisdom and expressions of love. This is, and always will be, the finest way to communicate. However, technology is ideal for those who are by nature reserved, and is better than no communication at all.

If you do have problems in this area, speaking direct to people, see if the following exercise helps.

Visualisation: You are sitting at your desk deep in thought when the sound of the fax machine attracts your attention. Looking at the paper gliding through the machine, it becomes apparent that someone is very angry indeed. Reading through the printed page, you realise that a friend has misinterpreted a previous message. Unhappy about the situation, you send a new fax. Disturbed, you try to return to your work but you are unable to concentrate. The fax spills out a reply. It says, ‘This matter was too important to be sent by fax. Still angry.’

Your working day in ruins, you pick up the phone and speak to your friend direct. When the conversation comes to an end, he says, ‘I’m sorry to have misunderstood you. But your choice of words in the fax was inappropriate.’ In fact, you had not changed the words at all. What had changed was the inflection and tone of your voice accompanying the words.

Although there has to be a place in the modern world for machines, especially in business, do not make a habit of replacing them totally in favour of that very special piece of communication equipment – the voice.

Affirmation: The art of communication is a gift. I must use it.