One of the things I totally enjoy is leading workshops on communication styles. You should see the looks on people’s faces when I explain simple things like, “that cake she baked for you was a message of love.” “Or the more you raise your voice to feeling communicators, the more they tune you out!” (Fiery communicators hate hearing that!)
Certainly being verbal is only ONE way to communicate. Unfortunately, most of us miss the subtler non-verbal messages. Most people think that if they think something, others know what they intend. NOT. Basic communication error. No one knows what you are thinking. Imagine the person you are wanting to communicate with is on one side of a river and you are on the other. It feels very vulnerable to wade out into the fast flowing water to get to their side. And you may be waiting a long time if you expect them to come to your side (they may not know how!).
What we need is a bridge! What if we had the language, self-awareness and courage to communicate what we intend? It would be even better if we didn’t have this egoic filter that won’t let us truly be seen, which convolutes the messages even more. What would humanity be like if our heads were lobbed off and we had to connect through our hearts? Whoa! THAT would be seriously different.
For example, I met a woman at a neighbor’s Christmas party the other evening. As the ego would dictate, she shared with me all the many and varied ways she was extremely special. I wanted to close her out until I realized she was saying, “Please let me be special to you.” We all have our ways of saying exactly that, but it doesn’t always come out as honestly and clearly as our heart can hear. What if we bypassed the ego center, the brain, the logic (why would that person say that? etc) and the fears? We could truly connect with one another.
What does your heart say about what someone is communicating with you? Try listening to it instead of the head or the ego and you will hear a very different message, you will be bridging the gap!
