Clarity is Foundational to Communication
Clarity opens our path of understanding. Conscious communication is becoming increasingly important because it is about a two-way exchange, which is often foreign to many.
Imagine a world without audiences, unless you are at a live performance, enjoying music, theatre, dance or art. But what if in life and work, we no longer talk at anyone? Perhaps there is no need to make announcements and quite frankly, no division?
Everything is in flow and integrated. We have thriving communities where we gather and talk openly. This is what is possible in the years ahead should we choose this mission of greater clarity and communication.
Clarity Increases Understanding
Today, we have a great deal of conflict within ourselves, in relationships and even between countries. Why? Because there is what we mean to say and what people actually hear. When we have a different frame of reference and don’t ask clarifying questions, we make assumptions. And jump to conclusions.
This is also why we may feel that we are very clear in what we say, but conflict or disagreement arises because someone creates a different meaning. What is said is not heard because all that is heard is only one’s own thoughts.
We can decide that we’re going to have a great adventure tomorrow morning. When we meet at 10 am, we realize there is no clarity. I am ready to go to the beach and you are ready to rent an ATV and trek into the desert. We discover that our meaning of adventure is very different and yet, we assumed it was the same.
And what happens when we have a miscommunication is it brings up emotions of disappointment or hurt. Then, we may be ready to attack or have some sort of emotional response and breakdown. It usually leads to more emotions, misunderstandings and breakdowns in communication. And a general lack of clarity.
When we live in a divided world, even though we have a ton of information and data available to us 24/7, there are massive miscommunications and conflicts. And we see it play out a country level, society, community, family and anywhere we created language and communication. Even within ourselves, sometimes there is confusion.
What Are Our Questions?
This is why questions are so powerful. They not only bring clarity to what someone means but also open up a channel to co-create meaning.
Additionally, a joint understanding helps us be in alignment and why questions are so important in dialogue. Not Q&As, which assume one of us is an expert and the other is the audience. In pure dialogue, we have exchanges and we let go of the outcome. We seek to understand each other and let go of preconceived beliefs.
When we get to the heart of what really matters, we find questions, curiosity, understanding, compassion and listening. And maybe each of us gets to invent our own communication flow moving forward, without any “how to” bullshit and simply by experimenting?
The Latin root of curiosity means to care and listen to desires. What are you curious about right now when it comes to communicating with flow and ease? How do you know when you have joint understanding?