Speakers Platform: The Business Reason for Respectful Communication


			You are here: --> Meeting Planners --> Feature Articles The Business Reason for Respectful Communication by Dr. R. Glenn Ray More Information About the Author: Click Here for the Dr. R. Glenn Ray Home Page "What we have here is a failure to communicate." Do you frequently hear that phrase from an old Paul Newman movie at work? Are you frustrated with what should be easy, communication in organizations? The unfortunate reality is that communication is not easy and is seldom done well. Too often, we experience communication which is disrespectful, demotivating, and nonproductive. Why do we communicate so differently from one another? Why do we misunderstand one another so often? Why is it in my interest to be respectful to others at work? It is important to be aware of several facts regarding our communication. First, we don‚t use the same words that our peers use to express our thoughts. When my family and I moved from Kentucky to Ohio in the early 60s, I heard a word that was foreign to me, "whopperjawed." As I came to understand the definition of the word (crooked or off-centered), I realized that the word my family used for that concept was "sighgoggling." We even use the same word to mean very different things. Consider the recent change in the word "bad." "Bad" use to mean something which was undesirable. Now "bad" can mean something which is impressive or desirable, the exact opposite. We each develop our verbal and nonverbal communication uniquely throughout our life. Each of us has a field of experience which results from all of our past experiences and which defines the way we communicate. Everyone of us communicate somewhat differently because we learned our communication tools differently. Rather than expecting others to understand us, we should expect others to misunderstand us. If we believe that misunderstanding is the more common occurrence, we will work harder at understanding the other person and at being understood ourselves. Improving our listening skills is one way of working harder at understanding and being understood. The best way to get someone to listen to you is to listen to him or her. Dedicate some undivided time to listening. Face the person you are listening to and make eye contact with him or her. Restate the content of the other person‚s message. Ask questions regarding the content to further your understanding. Actively seeking to give and receive feedback also improves the level of understanding among employees. Many times disrespect comes from not caring that we understand each other. I believe that my interests are advanced when others understand me and my needs whether at work or in the home. The same person I disrespect may be the only person who can help me in the future. Given the past disrespect, you will probably be inclined to withhold the help. So, my disrespect will come back to haunt me and limit my ability to accomplish my goals. For our own good, we should all work at communicating clearly and respectfully. If we did, work would be more satisfying and productive. Organizations would attract and retain the best employees and we would better meet the customers‚ needs. Dr. R. Glenn Ray is the President of RayCom Learning. This series of articles summarizes material from his book, The Facilitative Leader: Behaviors that Enable Success, published by Prentice Hall. To request more information on Dr. Ray`s programs and availability please contact Speakers Platform - Speakers@speaking.com - (805) 892-2386