Purpose of Effective Communication

“It’s not what you say, it’s what they hear”

The purpose of professional communication is to motivate a response, whether that is an action, a thought process, or a transaction. That being the case, the only relevant measure of communication is whether or not what you express creates the response that you’re seeking.

If you say something that you believe is exactly correct, but it consistently fails to get the response that you want, you have two basic choices: you can complain to or about the recipients for their lack of understanding, or you can accept the responsibility of adjusting your own communication. The former decision leads to confusion and alienation, the latter to comity, and a successful outcome.

Accepting responsibility for the result of your communications is a powerful perspective. It leads to improved collaboration, motivation, and appreciation. The selection of effective wording requires a better understanding of your audience’s specific vocabulary; a mutuality of meaning provides a key tool for effective communication. A simplistic example might be the use of negative adjectives to support positive attributes: bad, nasty, sick, and similar words denoting approval and admiration among some groups. Failure to understand that usage could preclude understanding and agreement.

The prelude to effective communication is a sincere attempt to align terminology and perspective with intent and motivation. The process for establishing those qualities includes the establishment of peripheral dialogue; the frequent, nonjudgmental examination of the level of your audience’s understanding; and an evaluation of the resulting outcome.

Constructive communication has only one reasonable objective: the motivation of the desired outcome, action, or understanding. If you find that you are disappointed in the response, look to yourself first and foremost, and work to find a more effective means of expression.