Entwined Muser

Too much of repetition and alliteration in the headline for this post isn’t it? Well, that’s the whole purpose actually. They say that the humans get too influenced/ easily distracted by visuals and repetitive words spoken.

Since the time we gain senses and become the part of “you-are-quite-old-to-understand-everything” clan; we know that our ability to speak, hear and reciprocate is the most privileged boon we’re blessed with as we’re “humans”. This one prowess differentiates us from the other living beings. But, as time passes by & we start getting out of the comfort zone of being reckless carefree adolescents to stern working professionals (that’s how the analogy is explained in most instances); the whole basic meaning of being able to “communicate” changes. Yes, we do not just speak or hear to be merely acknowledged.
We need acts of requiring to know that we’re genuinely being heard and given attention to.

In this whole process of being a “communicator,” we often miss onto an essential element of rather being an “effective communicator”. One could not deny the fact that we all have some room for improvement when we speak of communication skills we all possess. We constantly learn in all walks of life how essential it is to be able to transfer a conversation effectively. But, how can we do this? What are the 3 basic simple thumb rules which can make this easier than one thought it could be?

The GET Rule!!
This has not been picked up as someone else’s work or copied from anywhere. This is just an idea of my thought process and this has helped me to a really great extent. Watch out “how” this can help us all equally.

G: Good listening skills/ Good Listener
Be a good listener - only then can you be a good speaker. We have TWO ears and ONE mouth, let us all respect that fact and use it in that proportion. Many people only listen for the gap in the conversation, so they can say what they want.  This isn’t listening at all. That is called “hearing” for the sake of not offending someone. Few listen to judge, few are into sympathy listener
Quick food for thought when we know we are still striving to be a good listener-
Ask them to repeat what they speak (This shows you’re interested in what someone speaks with you, also, you’re keen on reciprocating your views or thoughts on what they share with you.)
Being able to listen to someone in order to understand their situation and then responding to the situation is the best way to show that you’re a good listener. Eureka moment!

E: Empathise
Empathise is the verb form of the term “empathy” which literally means “to understand and share the feelings of another.” Yes, this is the second most essential rule for being an effective communicator. Billy Liao, an Australian entrepreneur has rightly said “when we communicate, we should listen to recreate, i.e., listen to someone not with our ears, but with our eyes; so we can hear not our thoughts about them but we can recreate the same sensations and ideas dwelling in the person speaking with you”. That’s a pure form of being sensitive and also, empathize to someone when they speak. Always try and put yourself in the other person's shoe and understand what they really wish to communicate.

T: Tonality
Watch your Tone. Don’t be rude or harsh, have compassion in your tone (voice), be courteous to others.
Best when this has risen and fall, in pitch and tone – like telling an interesting story. Always keep up the pace mid-level for the words spoken and intonate when needed. This makes it much interesting an experience when you talk to someone. Try to have a grip on that person through the way you speak. Be a storyteller and use voice modulations to your rescue. Never shout, scream or speak rudely when things do not work out your way. There’s always a subtle way to get the communication right. Let’s not forget we’re humans, we like being treated well and others expect the same respect or behaviour when we communicate with them.

So this ends the 3 mantras to lead an easy way to “effective” communication in personal and professional lives. I am sure we can do miracles if we achieve them.

P.S.: This goes out to all the tiers of a hierarchy in any organisation/ group level. We’re all in the learning phase. Let’s be the change we want to see.

Freedom of speech, freedom to be heard, and freedom to pen our thoughts- aren't these the few most amazing things which anyone of us would want to do in our rather mundane lives?

I know it’s a “yes” from majority of us. We've grown up in the era of superheroes, where we've been so influenced by them that our lifestyle revolves around “how” things would be if it were to be imagined for the uber-cool gadgets which BATMAN constructs and goes around in those cartoon series or the movie clips. Ah, this is such a wonderful thought crossing my mind. OK- getting back to the point, all I am trying to correlate here is how simple would it be if such heroes could teach us to deal with the latest tech-related age, today’s dynamic and ever-changing social media phase.

Let me point down some teachings which my hero BATMAN preaches through his actions:

- Wear a garb of magic
We’re all aware of the terminology called “Ghost Writers”, they’re those brilliantly awesome writers who write or create content for well-renowned people or use anonymous names while they blog. This is one thing which directly shows connection with Batman. Let’s not forget he has the garb that of a charmer. No one can just miss on noticing that, can we?

- Face your fear
One thing which we’re told plenty of times is to “face the music”. Yes, we need to get over our inhibitions with our writing skill-sets. Also, getting out of the little comfort zone or shell we've around us would be a wonderful step to take. We need to put our thoughts in words to get out and reach the place where “Pen is mightier than the sword”. Much more like, how Batman always “tries” his limits to know how much he can face a challenge with the never give up spirit.

- Constant learning
Gaining know-how about the topics or subjects that we do not have much inkling about is the first tiny effort we take towards “learning”. Think of it in this way, BATMAN is learning to walk (understanding that he almost always talks to the wind and flies off on the most breathtakingly awesome gadget/s always. We can always be open and receptive to new ideas, learning's which can make a difference to “how” we write those thoughts or pen them onto the blogs.

- Produce facts
Let’s try to be genuine and speak the truth about whatever content we produce/ create or even re-word. There is nothing wrong in using someone’s work as a reference point and starting to get ideas on it and making your own content. This is pretty much what I've done here. I’d like to call this “Improvisation”.

- Grip the audience
Try to make your writing one exceptional experience for any person who reads it. They should be literally forced to not leave till they've completed reading the piece created by you, which also means, try to apply the "KISS" rule - Keep it Short and Sweet. Let's not overload the blog article with a lot of information in just one go, rather make it something really interesting for the audience to view and take some insights on.

I think this should be the end to all I want to say about #Blogging. It is not herculean to start with penning our thoughts on a piece of paper. Later, all we need to do is to learn the art of "articulation" and just serve it with some garnish of spice, crunchiness and some aroma for being enticed enough to read on.Soon, we'd all be like the mighty BATMAN.

I'd end it with this famous quote by him:
"I wear a MASK, and it's not to hide who I am- but to create what I am".