How Do You Communicate?

How do you communicate? Almost certainly there are many answers to that question. We all communicate in an infinite variety of ways, some of which we may not even be consciously aware of.
Communication is one of the most fundamental building blocks of family, business and society in general. Order and understanding arises out of successful communication. Every person has a unique viewpoint. Listening and observing is crucial to sharing with and enriching one another. We can gain an appreciation for many things that are beyond our own personal experience by learning from what others have to say.

Each form of communication involves a host of intricate nuances. For instance, in speaking we assume that the listener's comprehension of the meaning of a word is the same as our own. This basic premise is something we often take for granted. Or we may think that the listener is able to process information as quickly as it's delivered; so we may expect them to fully comprehend a situation as soon as we've finished describing it.

Sometimes these assumptions are correct, sometimes they're not. If they're not, misunderstandings can arise which may not be a result of a difference of opinion, but which occur due to a difference in the premise of communication and of the speed with which that communication is fully understood.

We communicate in all sorts of ways: speech, writing, equations, pictures, works of art, body language, music. These expressions become a part of our culture and we often rely on our knowledge of references to historically established meanings, such as symbols or events.

People differ in their preferences of communication and excel in different ways of expressing themselves. Some prefer to write, draw, talk, dance, sculpt, sing, play an instrument, prepare food....




Equally, we all have a means of expression that we find easiest to comprehend.

Vital and common to all forms of communication that result in a beneficial outcome are:

1. a positive approach to the subject being considered, and
2. an inherent respect for the listener or observer.

Including these two aspects as a basis for any expression or conversation provides an optimal arena for successful understanding. Easy as it sounds, it's surprisingly difficult to remember all the time.

Are You A Citizen of the World?

The speed and ease of travel by car, train, and air, along with the accessibility of communication via the Internet, has made the world seem a smaller place. For some people that has resulted in a social network that reaches far beyond the local community in which they're living.

Have you stopped to consider how many of your friends live in your close neighborhood compared with the number living elsewhere? Many people are linked far and wide by work associates, acquaintances, friends, and even family. Social links traverse counties, countries, oceans, time zones, cultures, languages -- all with little regard for the historical formalities or limitations of borders.
There are an infinite variety of reasons for traveling or moving. Some people move to find work. This is a big motivator these days and the distances traveled to satisfy these needs are farther and farther away from the person's place of origin. Some are forced to move to avoid conflict in their region. Some people move looking for better weather or to live near a place where they can more easily pursue their hobbies. Others just want to explore and experience new environments, learn languages and make new friends.

Children with parents that move frequently have both opportunities and challenges as a result. They may move to completely new continents in which they learn new languages and cultures. As children they adapt and become very much a part of the societies in which they live. If this happens even once in a child's life it can deeply influence their outlook.

As more and more people move and adopt new communities as their own, it not only affects their lives, but it also exposes the friends they leave behind to new things. The new place is shared by description, friends and relatives come to visit, some move to be nearby. A large cultural exchange and growth occurs as a result. Whether we travel or not, if we know people who do and we're in contact with them, we indirectly experience some of their new environment. Each contact of this nature brings the extended world closer to us.

Do you have friends on the other side of the world that you miss? Or family that you see only after getting on a plane? Do you meet people and make new friends on the Internet who are in places you've never been to? Do you miss a culture you no longer live in? Do you feel torn in your feelings of belonging to more than one place or society? As more and more people answer these questions with yes, the more fully our planet is moving toward having a functioning integral global society.

Benefits and Repercussions of a Global Society

With modern forms of travel and the Internet, the Earth has become a relatively much smaller place. We travel easily and quickly from one distant country to another. There has always been movement of people since history began, but it seems that more individuals, or small groups of people are moving around, leaving friends and relatives in other locations.

This has many advantages as well as disadvantages. The dictionary defines society as "an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization". In the past, societies have been largely woven out of local influences and have been very closely associated with location. There are a large number of very tightly knit communities with characteristic cultures and customs carried from the past into present times.

The large movements of individuals from every conceivable origin to every conceivable destination brings new elements into communities all over the world. The intermingling of different cultures and outlooks can bring tremendous benefits, but it can also cause confusion as the customs and familiar rules of etiquette become diluted by the presence of newcomers.

Change can be difficult to accept. People leaving what they know may be prepared to learn new ways, but while they're acquainting themselves with a new community they inadvertently bring new elements into that society themselves. Locals meet such new elements with a variety of responses.A society is an evolving entity, change is inevitable. Some personalities enjoy embracing the new, and patches of a modified society occur where mixtures of outlooks are adopted and accepted. But how does a community ensure that the qualities they hold dear are not overcome and lost by the rapid insertion of new ways and ideas?

The richness of variety is extremely important to moving forward constructively in any endeavor. If we, as people of the Earth, can respect and admire our differences and learn to bring them together without obliterating our varied heritages, we will have the best of everything for building the future.