Leadership, Learning and Communication
Mixed Blood’s production of Love Person was an unexpected pleasure. As other posts have noted, I found myself drawn to think more about communication. The following are some selected thoughts on the topic.
ASL is a beautiful form of communication. Expressing ideas without spoken word is the premise of many art forms. The allure of art lies in the possibility of finding deeper, alternate or simpler meanings. Sign language seems to hold this allure. I admired the character of Free. She held a confident, a non-verbal wisdom, that stemmed from her ‘freedom’ of the spoken word. This seemed evident in her exchange with Ram over the translation of the Sanskrit poetry. Does signing allow for a freer interpretation of an idea?
The play conveyed communication in many forms – visual, kinesthetic, auditory, sensory.
Different forms of communication tap into different perspectives of the listeners with varied results. In the play, e-mail provided a feeling of safety for the characters to be themselves, to speak their mind. Face-to-face interactions bring out other added communication dimensions: eye-contact, multiple dimensions of personality, non-verbal body language (either welcoming or off-putting) and a verbal spontaneity that might engage or alienate listeners.
Effective leadership is akin to effective forms of communication. To what extent is a leader taken seriously and respected by the way that leader chooses to communicate? Our current president has a ‘down-home’ quality to his vocal pattern that (I heard) is suppose to endear him to the public. So why do I wince when I hear him say ‘ta’ instead of ‘to?’ Was his speech pattern a deliberate choice? What percentage of the public is drawn by president’s Texan way of speaking?
Like communication, learning also embodies multiple forms – visual, kinesthetic, auditory, sensory. It would follow that a leader wanting to create the strongest impact (or learning curve with his/her constituents), would use multiple forms of communication, in conjunction with one another, to maximize learning.
I can think of individuals that I love getting e-mails from because they are so articulate, but I feel uncomfortable around them because they never make eye-contact. Or individuals that make me feel so at ease by the way they carry themselves, but don’t seem to have much to contribute to the group. Or I never know if I’ll be talking to Dr. Jekyll or Ms. Hyde on any given day.
Public speaking is a weakness of mine. I stumble over words and speak too quickly. However, as a teacher, I stumble less, although I probably still speak too fast. Also, I know my spoken word and body language are not always in sync. If I have a communication strength, it would be that I have difficulty in selling an idea I don’t believe in and I care about follow-through of a project. Where do your communication strengths lie? Your weaknesses?
Liz Kuivinen
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