Why Letting Go of Our Need to be Right is the Key to Communicating Better
"The trouble with talking too fast is you may say something you haven’t thought of yet.”
— Ann Landers, Advice Columnist
I have heard it said that we don’t see the world as it is, we see the world as we see ourselves.
In our belief that we see the world as it is, we often are frustrated by people who do not see it “the way it really is”. Conflicts equate to a battle of beliefs about what is right, the truth, or somebody being made to feel wrong.
And, since most of us have an innate desire to be right and not have our beliefs questioned, we can experience “premature communication.”
By that I mean, we can say things for approval even if they conflict with our personal views. We can utter words that we know will agitate another person. We even make bold statements that deliberately prevent room for discussion.
In all that we say and in all that we do, we communicate to the world who we are or who we want to believe we are.
Great communicators have an intended purpose and authenticity about what and how they are communicating.
Masters of communication have learned to master themselves by knowing who they are and what they stand for. When one has that sort of powerful knowledge, one can communicate in such a way as to be authentic, and at the same time, respectful of all those in their presence.
There is no need to be right or wrong. Keeping an open mind when communicating opens up a world of possibilities.
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