Rules for Better Communication
We were excited to receive lessons from Mr. Brent Mitchell this past Thursday’s forum. He began with a personal account from his years at a small state college in New Jersey. He worked with a group on a project, and one of the team members submitted it, yet when they received their grade, they realized the person who submitted it redid the entire project the way he wanted. Mr. Mitchell used this example to emphasize that a team is only as strong as its weakest link, and communication is the key to building as solid a team as possible.
Worldly importance
Mr. Mitchell shared that 86% of employers say lack of communication is the cause of workplace errors, while 84% of employees report that they rely on managers to convey communication. 65% of divorcees surveyed shared that lack of communication was the leading cause of their divorce. Communication is key when interacting in teams and interpersonal relationships. More importantly, how does communication affect our relationship with God? Like our relationships with those around us, we must work and communicate our relationship with God. We should never stagnate in our relationship with God; we need to grow and communicate; otherwise, we will go in the opposite direction.
Understanding tools of communication
As the years go on, more and more resources are at our disposal regarding communicating. The smartphone has changed the playing field drastically, and we are almost always a call or text within reach. An even more recent development is artificial intelligence. We now have predictive text on most of our devices, a form of AI that makes written communication even more accessible. Mr. Mitchell was passionate about using the tools available to us but understood the limitations that they may have. He shared three keys to assist us in becoming better communicators.
- Know the limitations of your tools
Being able to call someone long distance and have a conversation with them is a great tool, yet it is different from having a face-to-face interaction with that person. Mr. Mitchell shared that in 1 Thessalonians 2:17-18, Paul used letters to communicate with brethren he could not reach but still wished he could have been there in person to fellowship with them.
- People are not machines.
He presented that we need to continue developing our people skills. For centuries, we worked with our hands and then went to work with our minds, but now we are entering an age where we will need to work with our hearts because we are in an age of machines. Robots and artificial intelligence are becoming stronger and smarter, but there is one thing these machines will never develop: human emotion. Mr. Mitchell provided three areas in which we should be growing now.
- Cultivate emotional intelligence
- Learn to listen
- Cultivate the soil of your heart
- Seek Counsel
Communication is not only verbal, but it can be visual and written. He explained what we wear, our body language, and the tone of our voice, which sends a message about who we are. “Writing things is putting your mind on paper, and you must know how to do that. It’s a powerful communication tool you should focus on developing.” Seeking council can assist us in ensuring that we do not give off a different message than the one we mean by obtaining feedback on how we appear to another individual. It is crucial to seek counsel from someone who provides us with more than the answer we want to hear while simultaneously someone we trust and respect.
Communication is essential in teaching doctrine. How well can we communicate the doctrine of the church to our friends and family when asked? Can we do it clearly and concisely?
We learned lessons of teamwork and how to communicate as young children, and it is essential to continue growing our communication skills throughout the rest of our lives. As time goes on, we will only come into contact with more and more forms of communication. We are excited to grow closer to one another now that we have a deeper grasp on how we should communicate!
