The act of communication
I reflected a lot on the act of communication while enjoying my vacation in Portugal.
When I came home, I researched and learned there are five types of communication: verbal, non-verbal, written, listening, and visual. ~Anne Converse Willkomm
I’ve been told I’m not a great communicator, and I've come to realize that I do sometimes fly by the seat of my pants and don’t enjoy planning. Thus making it more challenging when others are planners.
This past week, traveling to a foreign country got me thinking about how we communicate with others. Most people in Portugal spoke English, but there were a few that we struggled to communicate with. Things can definitely get lost in translation. We laughed hard at the taxi driver who yelled at us in Portuguese about slamming his door; he was very verbal, non-verbal, and visual!
When trying to communicate with those who didn’t speak much English, we used our hands to express what we needed, pointed, listened, and watched, and did our best to use their language.
I then came home to my wonderful, almost 2-year-old grandson, who is learning new words every day. He communicates with his hands, and sounds if he doesn’t know the word, he pulls us to where he wants us. It is fascinating to watch.
My husband was watching one of our landscapers and decided to talk to him, only to realize he was deaf. He did his best to communicate, but it was a lesson in using non-verbal communication.
This morning, I began going through letters I found from friends and family from my childhood. I was amazed at how we communicated with each other. Letters written, asking questions that a phone call could answer. Letters from my sisters and brothers in college or out of college giving me advice about studying and enjoying my time in high school. Penpals I had forgotten about, people I had lost touch with. Such a wonderful way to communicate that’s lost as we use our phones now.
Many of you use active listening, tuning in to my voice as I explain the poses we are practicing. You use active listening to learn about others' stories and ideas.
When you think about how you communicate with family and friends, are you working on the five types of communication?
I will be doing my best to communicate in all ways to make others' lives a bit easier when they
