Communication That Connects

Today I’m speaking at the Lipscomb Pitts Breakfast Club (LPBC). For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, the LPBC is a privately-funded catalyst for the Mid-South, serving to enrich leaders and impact the community.

Our morning breakfasts offer valuable content and bring together approximately 400 business and community leaders shaping the Mid-South.

This morning I’m talking about the importance of communication in your career, and in your relationships. Here’s the 9-minute talk for download if you’d like to listen on your computer or mobile device:

Communication That Connects

Or, below is a quick summary.

To Truly Connect with Your Audience, Communicate Using the Lens of Your Listener

In order for you to reach whatever goal or vision you have, for either your career or your life, you absolutely must be able to connect with people. No one has ever achieved anything of significance completely alone.

Some connect with people better than others, but connection is absolutely essential for achievement.

Do you know the different between a credible person and a credible leader? A credible leader has 3 things that separate him or her:

• A viewpoint
• A vision
• The ability to verbally connect – to draw people to them

Psychologists tell us that while we all speak a language (and let’s use English for this example), we don’t all hear English the same way, nor do we interpret it the same way.

Think about a conversation you’re going to have with somebody that’s really important. It’s a conversation that’s important to you because you really need to connect with them.

Connection is not about personality. It comes from something else.

Early in our life, we develop what’s called a “lens of understanding” – we see, hear and interpret life in a particular way, including what’s said to us.

Now, think about the conversation you’re about to have. In it, you’re going to be speaking through the lens of your experience. The person that you’re speaking to is going to be listening through the lens of their experience.

The 6 Lenses of Understanding

Psychologists tell us that are 6 lenses of understanding. Typically, most people speak using 1 or 2 lenses, but not all 6. The best communicators – the ones who are truly able to connect with the people that they engage – tend to use the lens that represents the language of the listener.

Those languages are as follows:

• The language of knowledge
• The language of balance
• The language of security
• The language of relationship
• The language of power
• The language of value

In a recent survey, 78% of people report that they have not been trained properly for their job. That means:

I have not been communicated with.

I have not been connected with what I’m supposed to be doing.

84% of the people in the same survey say that in the past year, no one in authority over them has spoken to them about their progress.

In other words, while we’re moving faster than ever, we’re forgetting the most important thing:

We’re forgetting to truly connect with people through our communication.

If this resonates with you and you’d like to learn more, let’s connect.