Why I Am Passionate About Communication
We live in a connected world, but communication has suffered as connection has increased. The world in the 21stCentury is filled with disconnects despite our ubiquitous connectedness. The internet has made the world a smaller place, but it has also fragmented us into individual units and reduced our social coherence. The social media are not instruments of communication; they are tools for broadcasting information or opinion without dialogue, whether the source is individuals, corporations or nations. When dialogue withers, community and culture slowly dies. A death of a thousand small cuts. The paradox is that connection creates disconnection!
Conversely, when dialogue thrives, we gain so much from one another: new ideas, new perspectives, new challenges, and new community. Our civilization has grown from the exchange of learning, civil debate, united response to threat or disaster, and many other factors that share vibrant communication as their common factor.
Deep inside, most people long to communicate: it is part of our wiring to be a social species. All my adult life, I have sought to foster connections between people, believing that we are better together; that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. This is why I began coaching when the opportunity presented a few years back: I have seen organizations, businesses, communities, and families struggle when disconnected from one another, and I believe I can help reverse the trends. Not that I would do that alone: collaboration and cooperation are fundamental.
Originally I focused on leadership, because leaders lead, and everyone wins when a leader gets better. But I have learned over time that not everyone sees themselves as a leader, and those who do may lack the security to ask for help with growing in leadership.
So I have turned my focus directly to communication. My training as a Life Languages Communication Coach has taught me that communication is not merely a soft skill; an art that some have mastered while many lack. Instead it is also a science: you can learn skills and study key characteristics to grow your communication mastery (we call it Communication IQ). This appeals to me as a scientist by training: I like discovery, I gravitate toward measurable results, I aim for understanding and skill development.
What if we could find ways to demystify communication? Could our disconnection be reversed? I believe the answer is YES.
We have to start with the realization that each person is different. You and I are each unique: fingerprints, DNA, personal history, current circumstances, and so on. But what if our differences were definable? Quantifiable? Understandable? What if we can learn to communicate effectively? To choose to bridge the gaps between ourselves and others with insight and goodwill? My Life Languages training tells me that this is true, and this is achievable.
And so I am now focusing, with strong resolve and clear determination, on helping people communicate effectively. Teaching them the simple foundations of the Kendall Life Languages Profile and walking alongside them as they apply their learnings to real relationships for the strengthening of true community. The Communication IQ system, and the Life Languages profile have been used for over 40 years in more than 180 countries. This proven instrument is so simple a ten-year-old can understand it, yet so rich it will take you the rest of your life to explore it.
I’d be honored to help you.