Let me narrate you a ‘once upon a time’ story –
Once upon a time, there lived a very generous king. The only weakness of the king was – diamonds. He sent a message to the ruler of the neighboring country: “Send a huge diamond as large as pigeon’s egg or else….”
The other king on receiving this message replied: “We don’t have such a diamond and if we had …”
The first king got very disappointed and in anger he attacked the neighboring ruler. The war went for months till a third ruler intervened. The third king called a meeting with both the kings and asked the reason of the war. On hearing the messages, he asked the first king to complete his message.
First king replied in his defense: “It was a simple message.” He continued: – “Send a huge diamond as large as pigeon’s egg or else any other diamond. I love diamonds.”
Second king told that his message was easier to decipher: “We don’t have such a diamond and if we had we would have gladly sent it to you.”
The third king cleared the communication gap and suggested both to have a better communication to avoid the huge massacre they would have created.
The widest gap in our lives – personally and professionally, is created by – the communication gap. Especially with professional environment being more multilingual, multicultural, gender variant, this communication gap is apparent. It is a challenge in today’s environment to co-exist in such an environment.
Let’s first understand what communication gap is?
– Incomplete message,
– Message not received by the receiver,
– Unable to communicate freely due to language difference or time shortage or location constraint.
Everything boils down to – lack of communication. The biggest problem of communication is the illusion that communication has taken place. This is where the gap starts building.
Question is what shall we do to bridge this gap?
Well, the solution is very simple:
– Partner within your team: Junior or senior, treat your teammates as your partner in success and failure. Share your goals and vision. Speak to them freely. Try to understand each other’s attitude and style. Work together, party together. Start communicating.
– Simplify your message: Complex and intricate problems can be broken down into smaller and simpler pieces. Presenting the problem in simplified way will help others to get a better understanding of the problem and will help all to reach to the solution collectively.
– Question back: Ask questions. Listen to the answer carefully. Question back. Till you send the entire message to the recipient in correct form and order, keep the communications rolling.
– Understand the difference: Accept the fact that there are basic difference between male and female, between Indians and foreigners and between you and me. Be patient. Don’t stop communicating.
All these steps may take a lot of time. But if we bridge this gap at inception, we will cross the biggest hurdle in achieving our organizational goal. Good communication gives us large room to grow. Build that human connection. Fill the gap; make the communicating bridge to reach to the end without falling.
Image Courtesy: stevensonfinancialmarketing.wordpress.com
