Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Of course we want to communicate. That is a basic. Nevertheless, here is a small test to measure the actual desire to communicate.

Here is a quick test to measure a person’s desire to communicate to others.

1. Here is a blank piece of paper.
2. Here is a pencil.
3. Write three things (plus or minus two) that you want to communicate to others.
4. Give that piece of paper to someone else.

Can the other person read what you wrote? I mean read every word and every letter? No guessing at a word based on the context of the prior words. You probably didn’t score 100%. Did you spend the time and effort to write clearly?

End of test. Do you really want to communicate to others? Have you gone to the trouble to write clearly?

This is one of the big lessons regarding communication. It is difficult. Communicating well requires effort.

Of course this was a silly little example of a silly little test. Still, what effort did you expend? This was a chance to practice communication. Did you practice hard? Did you practice…well, not at all, just something to do to kill a few minutes.

Practice. Walk up to the counter at a fast food place. Practice. Notice. How does the person behind the counter communicate to you and to their co-workers? How well did they do? What could they have done differently? What could you have done differently? Did you notice what they needed? Did you try to provide that? The questions continue. Do you want to communicate? Do you practice? Do you simply assume it’s all okay?