Communication

We were created with a mouth to speak out our feelings and thoughts, body to express our thoughts and emotions. Good communication helps us achieve our purpose in life.  Famous communicators have a handful to say about good communication.

The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate - Joseph Priestley. People who beat around the bush would seldom get people to listen and understand them because people either tend to get lost in the bush or get impatient waiting for the real message to be delivered.

Speak clearly, if you speak at all; carve every word before you let it fall - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. When you speak, it must be in full clarity using every word wisely to ensure that people get the message.

Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can't, and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it - Robert Frost.  This is funny but it is very true.  I don't know why most of us are like this.  Those who have so much to say are just to shy to speak up while those who really have nothing or no essence in their message, loves to talk.  As my grandmother used to say, "If a jar makes so much noise, it is empty; and a full jar makes no sound at all". It is just like saying "talk is cheap".  People who talk a lot and boast are senseless people.

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak - Hans Hofmann. Simple and straight to the point communication will get your message across.  Never use elaborate, fancy or highfalutin [:)] words to impress.

Brevity is the soul of wit - William Shakespeare. You nailed it Shakespeare.

Good communication is just as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after - Anne Morrow Lindbergh.  Very true because you keep musing about the message.

If you can’t write your message in a sentence, you can’t say it in an hour - Dianna Booher.  I've met people who find it hard to write their message in a sentence and when it is time for them to give the speech, they beat around the bush and couldn't connect with their audience.

There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave - Dale Carnegie.  Your message does not end after you've written it.  You need to practice, practice and practice so that you don't regret that you did not communicate your message properly.

One of the best ways to persuade others is with your ears, by listening to them - Dean Rusk.  Good listening skills is essential to good communication.

Make sure you have stopped speaking before your audience has stopped listening - Dorothy Sarnoff.  A good communicator knows when to shut up.  What essence is it when you keep babbling and no one is listening?

And finally, the last but definitely not the least; a communication quote from my favorite communicator, “Be sincere; be brief; be seated.”  - Franklin D. Roosevelt