Different people hear and understand in different ways. A major part of the miscommunication that occurs in our lives and businesses is in assuming the way we speak is enough to create understanding in everyone. The truth is that different people often speak different languages, even when they are all “speaking English.” If you don’t take the time to learn how other people understand (their “language”), you have not taken responsibility for the communication.
“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”— Nelson Mandela
We all see reality in different ways based on our upbringing, our goals, our personality, and what is important to us. It is a mistake to assume that everyone else sees and understands reality as you do. To effectively communicate, you must learn to understand others’ perceptions.
“To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.” –Anthony Robbins
For Sacramento professionals ONLY: please take the following 5 minutes survey. I am using this to determine when to hold the McLaren Coaching communication workshop this year. In it we will look closely at how others see the world, how to learn their unique “language” and how to communicate knowing that information. (If this does not show up as a link, please cut and paste to your website’s browser.)
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/36HSDTY
