AHDI Lounge

Countless numbers of books have been written on the subject of effective communication, in a wide variety of contexts including business, relationships, families, organizations, etc. A number of folks make their living by traveling the world giving seminars on how to communicate effectively. But here in the little corner of the world where I live, given my short attention span and finite bucket of energy and motivation, I need something short, sweet, and to the point to help me stay focused on the need for good communication. Thus, my contribution to the pantheon of effective communication techniques boils down to asking one key question:

Every day that I live I'm inundated with all kinds of information, a great deal of which would be of value to someone else. I find that I'm a much more effective husband, father, manager, leader, and all the other roles I fill, when I can identify what "this" is and who needs to know it.

I think one of the great challenges we all face in the area of communication is our tendency to assume that other people know what we know. Yet haven't we all discovered the hard way--over and over and over--what a costly assumption that can be? If I could develop just one effective communication technique--and I readily admit I haven't accomplished this yet--it would be the ability to mentally evaluate everything I think someone else should know, and take the time to find out if it's actually true. Just think of how many problems in your job, marriage, relationships, etc., could be avoided by simply ensuring that other people really do know what you assume they know?

I could assume that after 20 years of marriage, my wife Carol knows by now that I love her. But as a wise husband (I hope), I make sure she knows, by what I say and by what I do, on an ongoing basis. In my job I interact with folks from a variety of areas of experience and expertise, from clients to upper management, sales, marketing, technology, and operations. I have learned, and am still learning, that I can't assume that all those people in different niches know everything they need to know to do their jobs well. The same is true with my interaction with AHDI members and leaders.

It's easy to make assumptions about what others should know, but a truly effective communicator takes the time to confirm what others actually do know. A couple of minutes spent touching base with someone today can save countless hours of frustration down the road.

Jay Vance, CMT

AHDI Administrator/Moderator

Director, District 1

AHDI National Leadership Board