Are you communicating or dialoging?

In today’s world, we hear so much about being a good presenter and speaker. There are workshops and organizations that are dedicated to presentation skills and public speaking. There are books and lists of what words to use for a given situation. We often are told that this includes our body language and how the right body language helps one better deliver their message.

This is all well and good and I truly believe in learning these skills. This is especially true for corporate storytellers – the art and skill of telling your story. What follows is not a BUT - it is an AND

With all this emphasis on our speaking and presenting, we so often ignore the “as equal to” part of communications – listening. Yes listening ( not hearing – there is a difference!). We must stop talking and listen to what are clients are really saying ( a want expressed as a need or a need expressed as a want). We need to listen to what our professional associates and fellow workers are saying. We need to quit our self-talk to listen to the creative message that lies within us. For some of us, this means including listening besides asking in our prayers.

As designers, as a nation, as a society - we need to re-learn the art of listening. Here at the studio, one of our beliefs is: “Communications is telling. Dialogue is sharing.” Let’s start dialoguing with each other.