I send and receive a lot of verbal and written words every day. Whether it is on the phone, talking in person, writing an email, or posting on Facebook or Twitter--there are is a lot of information. Btu the question I have been asking is: How much of it is really communication?
Consuming
- Writing an email
- Listening in on someone else's conversation
- Carrying on conversation while watching TV
- Stalking people on Facebook
- Watching your twitter feed
- Reading the emails in your inbox
- Listening to sermons online
Communicating
- Continuing an email thread
- Engaging in the conversation
- Talking to a friend with no distractions
- Chatting with someone
- Direct Messaging in response to a Tweet
- Replying to emails, even if only to say "Got it"
- Engaging in a small group to share what God is teaching you
- We can become proud because of what we know.
- We become isolated which results in self-deception.
- We become judgmental and begin to critique the information we receive.
So here are some practical actions to begin to move from consuming information to communicating effectively:
- Learn to listen actively. This means listen, without thinking of your response and then repeating what the other person said back to them. Then you can give your response.
- Reply to emails--it lets people know you read. (This is one of my pet peeves)
- Move your conversations from surface issues and begin talking about dreams, goals, and feelings.
- Stop the conversations in your head and learn to journal your thoughts. It helps you untangle them and you can become more confident when you speak in a conversation.
