I recognized at a young age, the importance of communication. I suppose a lot if comes from the fact that I was surrounded by elders in my life that we effective and valued communicators (even though at the time I didn’t know that is what they were about.) I also now recognized because of who I was raised by my parents, god-mother and their friends, colleagues and associates we business or influential people, as an adult that is the type of interactions that I am drawn to. Yes, I can fall into the chit chat and I do believe that even chit chat serves a purpose in connecting with others…but my soul craves conversations of what I call substance, interactive, thoughtful, though provoking, challenging, inspiring and feel good.
The past couple of years I have spent time learning and understanding Autism. This has been an eye-opening experience and I have learned so much about people and styles of communication or the understanding of the feeling of disconnect. You can look at a person and not realize that they honestly may not be getting what you are saying but try their best to act like they do. This does not just stem from Autism but a variety of people who we maybe communicating with on a regular basis. So, I would encourage you to be mindful when you interact with others, they can honestly be family and friends and you just never took the time to understand that they are not trying to be funny, but they may not understand what the meaning of what you are saying. People on the Autism Spectrum do not read body language or grasp the tone of your voice…so they may not react appropriately to you or others.
I also believe that the environment that we come up in sets the standards of what we understand and how we communicate. Think about it….how did or do the people in your family communicate, along with those in your community and friends?
I believe that some people are naturally good communicators and I also believe that good communication skills can be learned. Sometimes life is about being an actor and knowing the role to play depending on the situation you are in…some might think this is being fake, I see it as adapting to your circumstances to have a favorable outcome. My god-momma raised me that you can talk slang out there with your friends but I was never to do it with my parents, her or my elders. I respect that… But I am up in a home and community were respect was given from the adults we witnessed to we as the youngest had to fall into place. So maybe I was raised in an unusual influential environment that I took for granted. I have always felt that I was a good communicator and thoughtful in listening and responding. But then Vegas happened and I have at times felt like I was an alien and speaking a foreign language, exploring what I could have said differently or why the miscommunication was happening.
Despite the challenges I have experienced, I do recognize the importance in people skills and learning to maneuver amongst a variety of people and having the understanding of how to connect. I also understand that when being apart of Team for a Creative Soul, sometimes they are not the best in communication with potential opportunities and need to appoint someone that represents them in business dealings. In a situation like this, it’s important to be honest with yourself on your people skills and when you need help.
I would encourage everyone to stop and take the time to evaluate their communication styles/people skills and where your strengths and weakness are. I have take the time in this area during the Pandemic and have identified areas of they own strengths and weakness are,
I would love to hear from you and your thoughts on People Skills/Communication Styles…feel free to share your own challenges or ones that you witness in your world.
LadyFlava of LadyFlavaNews
Lady Flava News 