It's a Maxine Kind Of Day

Good morning everyone, get you a cup of coffee and come on in and chat a while. One of my most favorite cartoon strips (other than Charlie Brown) is Crabby Road. Now everyone may not like Maxine, but I totally get her. Maxine is Maxine and she is the way she is, no pretenses, no trying to figure her out. She is crabby about everything. She is a little old lady that is going to say exactly what is on her mind, most of the time it's negative, but at the same time she is humorous. I just finished a course in communication this summer which was a very informative class. In order to have great communication skills you must practice clear and precise communication. One example of bad communication,
friend 1- So I hear you just bought a house, what is it like?
friend 2- Oh, it's nice.
friend 1- Yeah? How big is it?
friend 2- About 2200 sq. ft.
friend 1- How many bedrooms?
friend 2- 3
friend 1- How many bathrooms?
friend 2 - 2 and 1/2
friend 1- 2 story or ranch?
friend 2- Split level
friend 1- brick or siding?
friend 2- brick.
Now, I don't know about you but in this conversation it seems as if the friend number one is interested in their friends new house and trying to get their friend to share  information about it is as frustrating as a dentist trying to pull teeth with the wrong tools. Having good communication skills it is possible that the conversation could possibly go something like this.
friend 1- Hey, I heard you just bought a new house, tell me about it.
friend 2- Yea, it's so beautiful, it's a brick split level, about 2200 sq. feet, it has three huge bedrooms that I can't wait to decorate, 2 and 1/2 bathrooms, one in the master another in the hallway and a half bath downstairs in near the living room. I can't wait for you to see it, I am going to need some help with decorating if you are up to it.
friend 1- Sounds beautiful, I can't wait to see it and you know I will be there to help in any way that I can. What are your colors going to be?
This is an engaging conversation, it is not forced, neither friend is having to try and guess what the other is trying to say.
Communication is important, and good communication is valuable especially in trying to establish good relationships. Just think of how many misunderstandings we would have if we were all willing to go the extra mile to learn how to communicate more effectively. Most people think that communication comes naturally. This is truly a misconception. Effective communication is a skill that has to be developed and practiced on a continual basis. The reason for this is, that we all have different perceptions. Our perceptions can be misleading when communicating, for the simple reason that we can not be in another persons thoughts to know exactly what they are thinking. So without skillful communication, we can be perceiving what we are hearing and what we are seeing (body language) in a totally misconstrued way. There are so many facets to great communication. If you are interested on more about communication, leave me a comment about some of your own experiences with communication or questions you may have and we will journey deeper into good communication skills.
Wishing everyone a beautiful day and until next time, add a little randomness in your life.