ശക്തമായ ആശയവിനിമയത്തിനുള്ള ചേരുവകൾ

Written By : Giphy George, Programme Manager – Linguistics & Life Skills Cluster, ASAP Kerala

Effective communication is perhaps the most important of all life skills. We communicate to express feelings, emotions and needs, share knowledge and build relationships. The ability to communicate information accurately, clearly and as intended, is a vital life skill and something that should not be overlooked. This article is intended to look into communication as a recipe for skill development.

The basis of this recipe is Balance.

We are going to think about our communication as a meal.

• What are the ingredients that we need to have to be present in the meal?
• How do we put together a great meal?

Five ingredients have to be present all the time for great communication to be possible.

A taste of what’s inside:

Ingredients

The first ingredient is Precision – 4 Cubes

This is about the clarity of your communication. To be clear and easy to understand, you’ll need to tailor your message to your audience.

The second ingredient is Conciseness – To Taste

This is about how quickly you get to the point and not waste people’s time. Don’t beat around the bush while communicating.

The third ingredient is Context – 3 Cups

This is about conveying your ideas at the right place and the right time. This is important because, though your point is valid, expressing it to the wrong person at the wrong time may backfire. Communicating within context helps people to process the information faster and to make decisions quicker.

The fourth ingredient is Impact – 3 Teaspoons

This is about making your message stand out and memorable. It is about communicating what is important and matters the most.

The fifth ingredient is Worth – 4 Cups

This is about making your message valuable for the listener. Valuable communication enables you to introduce innovative concepts effectively.

We’ve got all the ingredients. Now we need to know how much of each ingredient we need. The ingredients need to be added in different proportions as different audiences will have different palates. Each audience will have different meals, so the communicator has to choose the ingredients depending on the audience and decide the ingredient that will dominate the recipe.

How do you figure it out well? How will you decide the important ingredient from the row?

• Clarity is required when there’s a lot of complexity around the situation or the issue you communicate. You will have to make sure that your message is clear enough for the people to understand what the conversation is really about.
• Conciseness is needed when time is short, attention span is short or when the audience is your senior.
• Significance of context comes into play when there’s unfamiliarity about the topic or maybe when you’re communicating with people who have a lot on their mind or and to avoid confusion.
• The message should be impactful when there’s a lot of noise, when we need to work hard to make it memorable or when we want it to stand out.
• The fifth ingredient worth is needed when there’s scepticism when there’s a choice, competition or a decision has to be made.

All five ingredients should be present in every meal that you prepare i.e. in every communication that you have. At, the same time, don’t forget for whom you’re cooking or preparing the meal. You will have to decide which will be the dominant ingredient.