- The Investors Club
- Posts
- NickVenturella.com 10-24-18 - Clear Communication Makes Stronger Relationships
NickVenturella.com 10-24-18 - Clear Communication Makes Stronger Relationships
Clear Communication Makes Stronger Relationships
People share with you how they want to be interacted with.In their verbal and nonverbal language they indicate what they want and need from you in your relationship with them, whether the relationship is a spouse, your child, or a coworker.Any breakdown that occurs is often due to inaccurately interpreting those verbal and nonverbal communications.So, while we absolutely have to become better listeners (guilty as charged), we also have to be more direct in our language.I’ve been extremely busy in the last month-and-a-half, or so, and in that time I’ve literally interacted with hundreds of people.Some were other musicians at Eleven’s first meet & greet event back in late September; several interactions happened with my family – my wife and children and my parents siblings and in-laws; others occurred virtually via a customer marketing conference I spoke at in early October, and many customer and coworker interactions took place for me last week at my full-time job’s annual customer conference.I share all this because I’m a tracker of people. I internally track where people are in relation to me, who they are in relation to me, and many more hard and soft data points – it’s just how I’m wired. However, my interpretation of how others want me to interact with them is not always clear. In many cases, others assume that I’m interpreting their cues and language the way they are intending it to come across. Often that is the case, but certainly not always.As a result, I’ve been trying to be more direct with others and encouraging them to be more direct with me – tell me exactly what you mean/want/need, and if I do the same we should have less interpretation breakdowns.Some of this comes from growing up in a very passive aggressive household where the true message of what was being “said” was different than what was actually said – very confusing, especially for someone who doesn’t process information in the same way as others in my family.I’ve become more aware of this sort of thing because my wife calls me out when I’m passive aggressive, which I’m grateful for because then I can identify it and work to correct it. Also, I have to be more direct with my oldest son who is autistic, simply because he’s not always processing body language or other nonverbal cues.Why is all this important?Because everything in life boils down to communication and relationships – if you can’t communicate clearly (both parties reaching shared understanding through verbal & nonverbal language) then you can’t build meaningful relationships…and if you can’t build meaningful relationships life is going to be difficult and isolating for you.So, I encourage you this week to be as clear and direct in your communication as you can (for the record, that doesn’t mean be a blunt jerk). Say what you mean, mean what you say. Ask others to clarify what they mean if you didn’t catch their drift in a conversation. Don’t be embarrassed for asking for clarification – that’s better than pretending and misinterpreting something important.This goes for interactions at work, at home, with friends and family. My theory is that if you mentally track your conscious clear communications with others, you’ll experience strengthened relationships and further progress when collaborating with others.Have a great rest of your week! (I mean that sincerely without any duality).
Sincerely,Nick VenturellaNickVenturella.com