The Art of Communication

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The Art of Communication

By John B T

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

The Obama Example

Barak Obama won the US 2008 presidential election for a list of reasons, and high on the list would be his ability as a communicator. Obama’s power of oratory, his use of phraseology, his clear and concise messages; his control of the communication process and his ability to connect with his audiences are consummate. These skills can be learned.

If we want success in life we need to be able to communicate with people in a way that relates to them beneficially and preserves or increases our stature.

Throughout the presidential campaign Barak Obama used powerful, audience connection phrases such as: “This time must be different!” “Yes we can!” “A fundamentally new direction!” “Our moment is now!” “One voice!” and at least two powerful single word phrases: “Change!” and “You!” President Obama made such a powerful visual, relevant and vocal connection with his audiences that it became a matter of process for him to enter the White House. There are lessons in this for us all.

The Purpose

We need to consider the nature and purpose of any communication process we are intending to enter into; is it to be primarily of social or formal (academic, professional or business) relevance. And what do we want the communication to achieve. What is the goal?

We could say the whole of life is a social arena, but for the sake of this message let’s define social as other than formal. We humans spend most of our communication time in the social arena; be it at home with family and friends, or with work colleagues during breaks and after work hours, and with other peer groups such as school and college friends. There are different norms for these different types of communication, and all too often we confuse or frustrate the communication process by not thinking about these different norms.

Social communication can be ambivalent and is commonly not structured; its main purpose is for the enjoyment, maintenance and development of human connections. Its ambit is broad. Like the wind it changes direction often. But if we use the relaxed rules of social communication in a formal situation we are heading for problems. And all too often this is what we do.