Sometimes there are no words....

From the song 'No Words' by The Script:

But what can I say
About something that blows me away
Without it sounding like another cliché?
From what I've seen and I've heard,
When it comes to you, baby, there are no words.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L42I6FE_bt4

"In the last analysis, what we are communicates far more eloquently than anything we say or do."
- Stephen Covey

"The biggest mistake is believing there is one right way to listen, to talk, to have a conversation -- or a relationship."
- Deborah Tannen

"My opinion is effective communication comes from the desire to communicate. If a person wishes to get their point across, they will do what it takes to make it happen. If another person wants to understand what they are being told or shown, they will make the effort to comprehend."
- Christopher Morgan, Communication - Beyond words
http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140331140225-15642393-communication-more-than-just-words

#MainMessageForToday
Do you believe the ability to express yourself is a skill or is it an innate ability?

We need to communicate.....

From the song 'The Living Years' by Mike & The Mechanics:

You say you just don't see it,
He says it's perfect sense,
You just can't get agreement,
In this present tense,
We all talk a different language,
Talking in defense.

Say it loud, say it clear,
You can listen as well as you hear.
It's too late when we die,
To admit we don't see eye to eye.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGDA0Hecw1k

"Effective communication is 20% what you know and 80% how you feel about what you know."
- Jim Rohn

"The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention.... A loving silence often has far more power to heal and to connect than the most well-intentioned words."
- Rachel Naomi Remen

"Many relationship problems are rooted in a communication break-down. These can be as simple as not really hearing what the other person is saying, because we get caught up in our own fixed perspectives."
- Sumesh Nair

"I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."
- Robert McCloskey

"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place."
- George Bernard Shaw

"The two words 'information' and 'communication' are often used interchangeably, but they signify quite different things. Information is giving out; communication is getting through."
- Sydney J. Harris

"How well we communicate is determined not by how well we say things but how well we are understood."
- Andrew Grove

#MainMessageForToday
There are many reasons the other person may not hear what you are saying in a conversation. Maybe the topic is not very interesting or ideas are expressed in a complex way or they are preoccupied with other things.

Sometimes the words get in the way....

From the song 'Words Get In The Way' by Gloria Estefan:

But before you break my heart in two,
There's something I've been trying to say to you.
But the words get in the way,
There's so much I want to say.
But it's locked deep inside and if you look in my eyes,
We might fall in love again.
I won't even start to cry
Before we say goodbye,
I'm trying to say I love you but the words get in the way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kBEDi_qCtg

"Deliver your words not by number but by weight."
- Proverb

"Not the fastest horse can catch a word spoken in anger."
- Chinese Proverb

"Speak when you are angry -- and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret."
- Laurence Peters

"There are words which sever hearts more than sharp swords; there are words the point of which sting the heart through the course of a whole life."
- Frederika Bremer

"Speak clearly, if you speak at all; carve every word before you let it fall."
- Oliver Wendell Holmes

"Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say infinitely when you mean very; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite."
- C.S. Lewis

"How, when, and where you say something can actually be more important than the message itself."
- Anne Bruce & James S. Pepitone

Interesting video on How To Speak Clearly and Change Your Life.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsoYzpffO88

#MainMessageForToday
Everyone likes a person who speaks well. To speak well, know when to speak, choose your words carefully, express yourself well, and do not speak in anger.

It would be easier to communicate if people could read your mind......

"I can read your mind, babe,
I know what you're thinking..."
- From the song 'Read Your Mind' by Avant
https://youtu.be/lq3vcRpRh_g

"To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others."
- Tony Robbins

Do you agree?....

"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood."
- Karl Popper

"Make sure you are understood. Don't blame the other person for not understanding. Instead, look for ways to clarify or rephrase what you are trying to say so it can be understood."
- Joel Garlfinkle

"So how do you present complicated information that anyone can understand?
Just as you would any other information. It needs to be clear, concise and told in a compelling way. Just because the information is complex doesn’t cancel out the need to be a good storyteller and convey your information in a way that educates and moves your listeners to action, experts say."
- Anita Bruzzese, 6 Ways to Clearly Communicate Complex Information,
http://quickbase.intuit.com/blog/2014/06/09/6-ways-to-clearly-communicate-complex-information/

Did you know?
U.S. government documents must be in plain language.
http://www.plainlanguage.gov/

"The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate."
- Joseph Priestley

"The ability to express an idea is well nigh as important as the idea itself."
- Bernard Baruch

Easy to misunderstand this message...

"I have an answering machine in my car. It says, 'I'm home now. But leave a message and I'll call when I'm out.'"
- Steven Wright

How would you express it?

#MainMessageForToday
How do you communicate? Do you express thoughts in a complex way? Do you find it difficult to communicate complex information?

From 'When You Say Nothing At All' by Ronan Keating:

It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart
Without saying a word.
You can light up the dark.
Try as I may, I could never explain
What I hear when you don't say a thing.
...
You say it best when you say nothing at all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuJrEBtmM1Q

"One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do and always a clever thing to say."
- Will Durant

"True eloquence consists in saying all that is necessary, and nothing but what is necessary."
- Heinrich Heine

To speak and to speak well are two things. A fool may talk, but a wise man speaks.
- Ben Jonson

"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something."
- Plato

"The words you choose to say something are just as important as the decision to speak."
- Author Unknown

"We should be as careful of our words as of our actions."
- Cicero

"The way we communicate with others and with ourselves ultimately determines the quality of our lives."
- Anthony Robbins

#MainMessageForToday
Communication is important. Know when to speak and choose your words carefully.

Theme for the week 10/25 - 10/31: Communication.