I have made my living
for the past 20 years speaking to audiences large and small about Communication,
as well as Motivation, Leadership, Team Building and Controlling Change.
In these presentations, we cover how to communicate effectively, whether
your audience is one person or 1000. But what is the most effective
form of communication?
The most effective
form of communication is one-on-one. This provides both the speaker
and the listener with the opportunity to see the other person clearly,
to pick up nonverbal cues such as body language and facial expressions.
The close proximity possible with one-on-one communication ensures that
the listener can hear the speaker clearly, picking up non-vocal cues
such as enunciation, inflection, and change-of-pace. Finally, the listener
can question the speaker in order to clarify issues and request repetition
of words that may have been missed.
As soon as a third
person enters the conversation (even if only as an observer), we tend
to be aware of them in what we say and how we express it - This means
that we're not 100% "tuned in" to the first listener.
While it is the
ideal situation, and opportunities are limited, we should be aware of
the "purity" and strength of a one-on-one talk. Strive for
one-on-one when the topic is extremely important of sensitive.
Motivation, not
the "magic" thaw most people think it is, is based on outstanding
communication. Expressing clearly what we want to those who report to
us, (or even to ourselves), is the first part of motivation. Speaking
to a large group is probably an efficient means of passing on the message,
but is it the most effective?
It's not communication
OR motivation, but communication as a basis of better motivational methods.