How much noise do you have in the course of a day?
I know that I have a lot, not only my own noise: thoughts, stress, aches, worries, constant thought about all the other projects, besides the one I am meeting on! There is the air conditioner, my 'cube' mates, phones, printers, copiers, faxes, meetings, wind... boy; I could list a lot more. How do we all cope with so much noise? There is even 'white noise' to drown out the 'cube' mate’s noise. What are we doing to ourselves and our environment and how do we filter out the noise to makes sense of anything?
It's funny that I see joggers and walkers on mobile music devices, even on nature hikes in the mountains. Are we so used to the noise around us that we can't function without it? I know that I like to hike and listen for nature, birds, wind, the footsteps of my dog, the rustle of the leaves. It's good to let the mind and the ears rest now and then.
Feedback
In my line of work it is essential that there is feedback on communications. However, how do you really know that someone has heard you or that you understand the other person? Paraphrasing is always best - repeating the person's statement in your own words, this helps me also with remembering the conversation. It's also good to know that someone has received your communication, whether it's an email, memo, blog... etc. It's just common courtesy to send a 'gotcha.' I know a lot of folks who simply just send a smiley face - that's great! At least I know they received and acknowledged.
Question: How do you know that you have heard and understood the other communicator and how do you know they have heard and understand you?
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1 comment:
First I have to say that I really like the way you organize your blog as a follow up for the class and assignments.
The question at the end of your post for Chapter 1 is something that I do most of the time when I communicate with others since English is not my first language. I tried to be sure that I understood correctly and people understand what I try to say. Some times I repeat parts to make sure I am understanding, others I ask for feedback about what did I say to be sure my messsage is received in the way I intented....
These are some things I do, also with my kids is very important because they seem to hear but they do not listen, so I am checking most of the time with them since they have 'selective hearing' this is how the doctor named it.
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