Effective Communication: A Valuable Key To All Round Success!

Feb 21, 2018 – Effective Communication: A Valuable Key To All Round Success!

A couple decides to get a divorce for irreconcilable differences. A teenager rebels because she believes her parents don’t understand her. A student fails because he cannot express himself to the satisfaction of his teacher. A staff member is fired for failing to effectively carry out his duties.

An organisation loses its competitive advantage because the staff cannot comprehend the new vision the CEO. An airplane crashes because the pilot loses contact with the control tower.

All the cases above have something in common – ineffective communication. You may wish to take a second look at the cases to see how true! To appreciate the value of communication, imagine you are in a foreign country without any knowledge of the national language and with no one who understands yours. Meeting needs as basic as finding direction will become herculean.

One of the greatest challenges in human relationship is ineffective communication. Every individual has several thoughts and ideas constantly created in the mind. The trouble arises when it comes to sharing those thoughts and ideas with other people.

Some of the problems may include how to find the right words to use, know the right way to speak, choose the right time to talk, be willing to see other people’s perspectives, and realise that assumption is dangerous. Quality though should go into communication.

Sometimes, ineffective communication is not due to lack of comprehension of the message but failure to agree or comply. Problems evolve when everyone wants to have his way. Let’s learn from one of the most effective communities on earth – the ants:

Ants are not governed by a leader but by communication: when an ant goes in search of food, it leaves a broken trail of chemicals by touching the ground with its body. When it finds a rich supply of food, it leaves an unbroken chemical trail on the way back to the colony to guide others to the food.
Also, when a colony is destroyed, scout ants fan out to find a new home.

The location of the new home is determined by the number of scouts who lay their chemical trails in the same direction. Communication is central to ant-life. The key to achieving our desires is effective communication. One way or the other, it is impossible to do so much alone but to work with others, we need to communicate.

Ants coordinate effectively: when you see a single ant ‘wandering’, don’t be deceived. Once a food source is found, in just a matter of minutes, several others will join. For instance, Grass Cutter Ants recruit other workers when they find quality food by creating a vibration through their abdomen. Other ants can feel this vibration through their legs from up to a meter away. Ants’ cohesion comes from their communication.

When communication fails, systems fail. A lot of valuable time is wasted when communication is ineffective. The greatest result of effective communication is unified understanding and purpose, leading to invaluable success.

I look forward to reading your comments and stories of great successes.

[By Olanrewaju Amodu, Twitter @lanreamodu, SMS–> 07034737394]