Category: communication

first gun

I was eleven years old the first time I saw a gun in the streets. Startled by a clinging sound in peak midday rush while I was waiting for a friend right outside the hall of Antwerp-Central rail station.

Looking toward the sound, I noticed a shiny, chrome, Beretta. To suppress panic, I’m trying to see if someone else witnessed what I just saw. The next instant, I looked at the man who had just dropped the gun.

He was getting dumped on, verbally, by his companion. Sounding like a southeast European language, I can only imagine he must have said. You idiot, why did you drop your piece in the middle of the day? At the busiest spot in the city, no less.

The two men looked at me. In about twelve seconds, I developed more panic. I touted my lips somewhat and shook my head in an attempt to relay an “I haven’t seen anything” sentiment.

Why am I telling you this?

55% of communication is nonverbal.

Leaders, managers, and HR professionals can’t overestimate the importance of body language.

Sometimes, everything and nothing is being said at the same time.

how do you say

Entire TV formats are based on a simple principle. Episode after episode, seasons on end, the concept of misunderstandings seems inexhaustible on the one end and insatiable on the other end of the viewers.

The mechanics behind a misunderstanding are straightforward. What somebody thought they understood isn’t what was supposed to be conveyed — perhaps based on a double-entendre or other misunderstanding-boosters.

At one point, a misunderstanding is funny. Until it isn’t. You, as a viewer, grow frustrated because, well… It’s all just a big misunderstanding.

Reality transcends fiction, always. That’s what my history teacher once told me.

Every day, large misunderstandings are conceived. Larger than the misunderstandings exploited in comedies.

We all fall victim to misunderstandings, and HR is no different.

When companies, and their respective HR departments, reduce the potential for misunderstandings, they can effectively avert much human drama. That drama, by the way, is never as funny as on a screen.

A good start is finding a common language, terminology, and a framework to support discussions, much like other industries with their proper jargon.

professor jerk

Years ago, when I was diagnosed with a benign tumor in the face, the professor was an absolute jerk about it. The way he relayed the diagnosis was terrible. Sadly, I’ve seen cats communicate better.

What that man lacks in social skills, he makes up for in medical and surgical skills — a brilliant professor, without a doubt.

If that’s the communication style this doctor applies with his patients, how does he communicate with his colleagues? What’s worse, this professor, in particular, is no exception.

We can’t all be communication gurus, but there is room for improvement in many cases.

Bad interpersonal communication styles in healthcare can literally have fatal consequences.

Mapping professional expectations and soft-skills in healthcare can be leveraged to provide learning & development trajectories and build better teams.

In the end, engaged healthcare teams save more lives.

communication failure

Poor standards of communication and collaboration are the main cause of more failures in work, according to Bernard Marr.

How do we look for good collaborations without the ability to identify and then clearly express our preferred communication style? Subsequently, without understanding the communication styles of the people we work with, there will be misunderstandings. Misunderstandings that could potentially be avoided.

It takes less than fifteen minutes to gain insight into communication & collaboration styles. What’s a good argument for not doing it?