Consuming or Communicating

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

It got me thinking…in our culture today, we can easily become consumers of information rather than engaging in communication.  And when we take in information and think that is communication, there are several outcomes that happen.

1. We can become proud because of what we know.
2. We become isolated which results in self-deception.
3. We become judgmental and begin to critique the information we receive.

Here is the big deal, consuming information affects our head; but relational engagement gets to our heart.  And we only change something about ourselves when our hearts are involved.

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.

So what else would you add to this list?  What helps you communication more effectively?