The Rarity of Speaking Without Interruption

Whenever I work with a client or speak to a group and ask what their number one challenge is, they almost all say communication (no surprise there, huh?). When have we ever been taught the "hows" of communication?

I even had one client who wanted me to teach his staff the "when" of communication, implying that there is an exact time to deliver the exact "what" in order to get the exact result he wanted, which, when pressed, he couldn't even define.

I think the key to effective communication is listening, a skill which very few people ever learn. Listening is not the same as hearing - I don't think I have to explain that better here except to say that most of the time in my corporate experience, I would have loved to have someone actually listen to me - to my ideas, my frustrations, my dreams.

It seems corporate leaders are more programmed to speak instead of listen (that could be a whole other blog post, and probably will be in the not so distant future).

So although it's not quite the same as listening in person, I'm pleased to be part of a writing project called Speak Without Interruption. Here, from the website, is the mission of the site:

Speak Without Interruption was created to give everyone a place to voice his or her thoughts on various subjects. This concept originated while watching the political tv shows and seeing the frustration of the guests when nobody could get a word in. The segments were short so the guests were often left hanging and unable to complete their arguments. We thought this was not only frustrating for the viewer but was probably frustrating for the guests as well.

Because writers, in our opinion, are the most important part of any postings we have expanded our original site basis to include all writers - in all topics - who would like to voice an opinion, further advance a thought or topic, or provide material for viewer reading or comments. We welcome all participants - writers, viewers, pundits, media hosts, and anyone else who would like to “Speak Without Interruption.”

Check out the site to get some great ideas about topics people are very passionate about (and check out my first article there as well!).