Everyone claims to understand the significance of communication and the critical role it plays in any successful venture. Why then do we see so many disasters attributed to the lack of or poor communication? Marriage, politics, warfare, negotiation and business success all hinge on the ability to converse with one another.
There are many aspects to productive communication, but the following two are essential factors which have the potential to make or break any situation: respect and empathy (identification with and understanding of another’s situation, feelings and motives).
Think about the following Generational Gem the next time you want a positive communicative outcome based on respect and empathy.
A man and his wife had been arguing all night, and as bedtime approached neither was speaking to the other. It was not unusual for the pair to continue this war of silence for two or three days. However, on this occasion, the man was concerned; he needed to be awake at 4:30 a.m. the next morning to catch an important flight, and being a very heavy sleeper he normally relied on his wife to wake him.
Cleverly, so he thought, while his wife was in the bathroom, he wrote on a piece of paper: “Please wake me at 4:30 a.m. I have an important flight to catch.” He put the note on his wife’s pillow, then turned over and went to sleep.
The man awoke the next morning and looked at the clock. It was 8 a.m.! Enraged that he’d missed his flight, he was about to go in search of his errant wife to give her a piece of his mind, when he spotted a hand-written note attached to his pillow right next to his head.
The note said: “It’s 4:30 a.m. Get up.”
RESPECT and EMPATHY!
About Harry K. Jones
Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.