MK Week C12 – Communication Breakdown
Have you experienced Communication Breakdown?
What exactly is Communication Breakdown? My interpretation would be that two or more people have failed to communicate their message, opinion, situation or feelings to each other, and reach a happy solution over any disagreement. As we all know, communication breakdown can lead to anything from minor arguments between friends, to divorce between couples and even war between countries.
But why does communication breakdown happen? Why don’t we understand each other? Why do people fail to reach mutually beneficial understanding and respect for one another?
I am reading ‘The 8th Habit’ by Stephen R Covey at the moment and the insight and experience he shares in his books are brilliant. If everyone implemented the strategies he suggests re communication there would be far less problems in our lives and in the world. But, hey, that’s just my opinion! lol. To sum up quickly one of the points Mr Covey makes is to use a ‘Talking Stick’ or something similar. The object is to listen and respect the person holding the ‘Talking Stick’ as they express their feelings and thoughts. No one else is allowed to speak except to reflect back what they understand of the other persons perspective. When the person holding the stick feels understood he/she passes the stick to the next person and the roles reverse.
We all react to situations based on our own perspective of life. We may believe our opinion is the correct one because it makes sense to us from our own perspective, and we can become so emotionally invested in our own opinion that we believe the other person must be mistaken, blind to the obvious or even just stupid. One of the many things we learned through the MasterKey Experience was to step back and become an observer of life. To look at the circumstances, people and interactions going on around us and just watch, with no opinion.
It is easier said than done! Have you ever noticed how quickly your mind makes judgements about other people? We want to be heard, understood and feel valued but often fail to give the same consideration to others. So what can you do to help yourself, to open your mind to different ideas and perspectives?
Through the MasterKey Experience course you will learn to create new focus. You’ll have a personal mentor to help you stay on track and simple tasks that establish new thought patterns that can help you turn things around. Register for information about the 2016-17 class below and you’ll receive notification of the launch videos in early September. It was the best decision I ever made, and I’ve not looked back. Will you be one of the 3000 joining the 2016 session?