Through BonneFire I have developed a monthly P-R-P:
Pulse Check – Reflection – Practice.
August’s Inspiring Guidance & Teaching for members is
“Owning Our Communication and Respect for Others”
Enjoy a sample below.
Join BonneFire today to gain access to the full text of August’s Inspiring Guidance & Teaching!
Owning Our Communication and Respect for Others
“Electric communication will never be a substitute for the face of someone who with their soul encourages another person to be brave and true.” — Charles Dickens
Our communication has evolved well beyond the face-to-face and voice-to-voice. While it is often terrific to send a quick text, to be able to broaden our reach with social media and group emails, our ability to clearly and thoughtfully communicate and truly revere one another are often sacrificed. We also forget that we don’t have to respond to everything in an instant. I hope to inspire all of us to not take our communication lightly, and to treat it as a gift to connect with another human being.
In March of this year I had a flat tire on my way to interview Mark Tache, one of my honored guests for a BonneFire Intimate Chat. I was able to flag someone for help to give me a ride. I experienced some of the most intense fear of my life as the young lady who gave me a ride texted away with both of her hands barely touching the steering wheel. I felt incredibly vulnerable when I requested that she please not use her phone while I was her passenger, politely expressing my gratitude for the ride. She didn’t get it. “I do it all the time; no worries.” She didn’t stop. I was stunned as she felt invincible while also driving in snowy conditions and poor visibility, and that she was so conditioned to have her attention divided between her screen and her environment that she could not be truly present to her role as driver or to me as her uncomfortable passenger. We were unable to communicate, and in this instance it could have been disastrous. This is an extreme example of something many of us have become desensitized to, which is why it is critically important that we re-sensitize ourselves to it.
What’s in it for you to own your communication and have respect for others?
When you own your communication you literally experience more joy and harmony and fewer conflicts and dramas in your life. You are realizing your human potential by connecting with others, hearing others, having heart for others and actually feeling about how your communication affects others. You are mindful of the consequences of how you communicate. You are aware of how to command respect for yourself when others communicate with you.
When you own your communication, you minimize the instances of being the source of misunderstandings and of confusion. You project clarity of thought, and you experience greater harmony with yourself and with others, hence you have healthier relationships at home, in the boardroom and everywhere. You have the ability to inspire how others can also own their communication. You positively affect change for yourself and those around you.
Have you ever heard “You are what you say”? When you own your communication you have the power of transforming your life through the power of language, as you are mindful of the language and the words you use.
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” — George Bernard Shaw
Are you aware that how you communicate reveals a lot about who you are, your character, your level of conscientiousness, your level of maturity, your emotions, whether you care to connect with others and whether you show respect for others?
Do you ever take the time to consciously pause and reflect about how you communicate and its effects on your being in harmony with yourself and with others?
“The art of communication is the language of leadership.” — James Hume
Your communication reflects how you lead yourself and how you lead others.
How is your day-to-day leadership of your life and/or of others, and how is your life unfolding as a result of your communication with others and with yourself?
How often do you find yourself saying, “Oops, I pressed the enter button too quickly?” “Sorry, I had to say this in the prior email,” “I assumed you knew what I meant,” “When is the party?” (when the date and time were actually mentioned in the communication)? Are you truly cognizant of the way you communicate?
“If you have nothing to say, say nothing.” — Mark Twain
With the proliferation of social media, you might have forgotten that saying nothing is ok. Does everything on social media really need to be shared with the world? How does your social media habit impact the rest of your communication?
It is never too late to take full ownership of your communication every single moment of every single day with everyone around you, for the rest of your life. I invite you to use common sense in how you communicate, what you communicate and the contexts of where and why you communicate.
Be respectful and honorable. Discern what can be shared and what shouldn’t be communicated based on the context, the media you use and with whom you’re sharing.
Gain access to the full text of August’s Inspiring Guidance & Teaching by joining BonneFire today!
BonneFire is a community dedicated to fostering healthy individuals and healthy organizations. BonneFire is about living our lives loving what we do, being authentic to who we are, to our own unique blueprint. It is about being in harmony with ourselves and caring to be in harmony with others and realizing our individual and collective potential in all sectors of our lives.
BonneFire is in support of being true to ourselves, showing up authentically in roles that we commit to and inviting individuals to be introspective, self-aware, mindful, intentional and purposeful. Together we lead with dignity in alignment on values, governance and strategic priorities, conscious of the impact we can make for future generations. We are in service to each other and all stakeholders.
