Communication

Communication is a vigorous part of everyday life by allowing each person to relay their thoughts, feelings, or ideas to others.  The ability to communicate is often ignored or underestimated and in turn causes a disturbance within a relationship.  If an individual did not show any emotion towards another person they are communicating a message just as clearly as if they had smiled.  By not responding, however, and ignoring the desire to share the emotions within the individual is acting in a deceitful way.  They are either lying to themselves or to another.  Communication is a very powerful tool that if not used correctly, may become unnatural and uncomfortable.  For example, if someone were to avoid human interaction once they were forced upon it they would not know how to act and their reactions may be uncomfortable and awkward for all involved.

I used to be very outgoing and I never cared what anyone thought about me.  Of course that is what most people believed because I was very good at hiding my insecurities.  Over the years my insecurities started to get the best of me and I was reacting to people in a way that I did not realize was even happening.  I would avoid eye-contact, shy away from a conversation, and I did not smile as much as when I was younger.  A lot of the changes had to do with the fact that at some point I felt like I was not good enough to be around others so I backed away from meeting new people for fear of being wrongfully judged by them.  I thought I was being friendly and smiling at others but a friend pointed out that I was withdrawn and appeared uninterested in making friends.  I appeared stuck up to people who did not know me.  I will befriend anyone but because I was afraid the expressions that I thought were shining through were being masked and appeared as something I was not.  In a professional setting, a misinterpretation like that may cause me to lose my job or be overlooked for a promotion due to an attitude issue or a lack of enthusiasm. 

Often times an individual communicates in a manner they are unaware of.  They may respond to something with a facial expression of disgust while meaning to show no emotion.  Others may desire to show joy when, in fact, their body language shows no expression at all.  The communication that is being exchanged may lead to a misunderstanding if spoken words are not accompanied by message exchanged through body language.  Listening, acknowledging, and responding are essential to clear communication.  Without listening the message can be misinterpreted, without acknowledging the initial message or point of the conversation the perception of reality may be different for the sender than it is for the receiver.  A miscommunication may have occurred and without verifying understanding neither person may ever know that the miscommunication even occurred.   Responding is important to communication because it is a two way street.  A response does not have to be spoken: an individual’s body language speaks louder than their words. If responding in an unintentional manner the message is lost.  Without some sort of communication the intended message may not be salvageable. If the sender shares a message and the receiver does not understand every aspect of the sender's message miscommunication has occurred.