What kind of Communicator are you?

 

"The art of communication is the language of leadership.” — James Humes

I recently took a communication skills course where I learnt about the various communication styles for the first time. The subject was quite interesting and also thought provoking. I want to impart this knowledge to our readers as well. If we reflect deeply on these concepts, we can become better communicators, indeed.  

 People can be broadly classified into three types based on how they communicate. We'll check them out one by one.

 1.  Noble Communicators:- They are the people who communicate primarily to share knowledge and honest opinions. They always say what they believe to be true. Before voicing their ideas, they do not consider the circumstances or the possible repercussions. Additionally, they do not value an individual's sentiments. Despite being straightforward, they may get aggressive.

 2.   Socratic Communicators:- They are the ones whose main goal in communicating is to communicate with others. Anywhere and whenever they have the chance, they love to talk. They enjoy giving in-depth explanations and have a very artistic speaking style. They are proficient in language. They are knowledgeable about the issue thoroughly, and they usually have outstanding persuading skills. They don't listen well since they like to talk so much. When they are stopped while speaking, they can occasionally become arrogant.

 3. Reflexive Communicators:- These individuals think that relationships are more important than communication. They are extremely sensitive, humble, and empathetic. They worry that others will be harmed by their expressions. They therefore choose not to speak. They are mostly the listeners at any meeting. They become prey for others, but even when they receive criticism, they forgive. However, what's intriguing is that they keep on watching silently as things go wrong all around them. They rarely provide suggestions to improve the situation.

 Now that we've seen the three different communication styles, it's time to consider the communication style that best describes us. After that, it will be a fun project to group our loved ones according to how they communicate.

Ok. Which of the aforementioned communication styles is best? I've provided three instances below so you can understand this. Consider yourself to be each of the three different communicators. Your objective is to determine whose communication will be the finest.

 

Scenario 1:- The CEO of the Company addresses a gathering of his senior executives. You are one among them. He was presenting the lecture on the company's long-term goals. You saw that his presumptions were incorrect. If he wasn't corrected, the company would suffer greatly.

 

Scenario 2:- You are a mountaineer who has just arrived home from an expedition in the Himalayas. Everyone in your circle of friends and family has assembled to hear about your adventures.

 

Scenario 3:- You are attending a sports event in a famous school. A promising girl athlete known to you lost narrowly in the 100 Metre Sprint trials and was sobbing.

 

We'll now examine your response if you had put yourself in the position of the three communicators.

 

Under Scenario 1, If you were a Noble communicator, you would have exposed the CEO's error out in the open. If you were a Socratic communicator, you would have attempted to elaborate on what the Noble communicator had just stated, but you would have been requested to sit down since there needs to be some protocol in the meeting with the CEO. If you were a Reflexive communicator, you would not have spoken.

 

Under Scenario 2, If you were a Noble communicator, you would have described your experiences without stirring up any excitement, just like you would in a presidential address. If you were a Socratic communicator, you would have entertained the audience and narrated for several hours. If you were a reflexive communicator, you probably didn't say much since you didn't want other people to feel inferior because they hadn't taken on this difficult task.

 

Under Scenario 3, You wouldn't have noticed the situation at all if you were a noble communicator since you would have assumed that winning and losing are inevitable parts of life. Even if you had spoken, the athlete wouldn't have felt better. However, if you were a Socratic communicator, you would engage the athlete in conversation long enough for her to feel sufficiently energized to compete the following year. A disturbed person, however, will never pay attention to a long lecture. The athlete would not have fully paid attention to you as a result. If you were a reflexive communicator, you wouldn't have talked much, but you would have given the distressed athlete the much-needed warmth and acceptance.

 

The point is thus obvious. Which style of communication is best depends on the circumstances. And there is another important lesson. And there's still more to learn. We had discovered that not every situation would be best served by a particular communication style. Thus, it is important for us to understand when, what, and how to say depending on the situation. The best part is that we need to practice listening like a reflexive communicator because it accounts for more than 50% of communication.

We have come to the end of this week's post.

Enjoy this cartoon by the legendary R.K. Laxman

Happy reading and best wishes for improved communication.

 

Please share your feedback in the comments.

 

See you in the next post, bye.