I’ve written that as an architect, I spend a lot of time communicating. Times where I can deep dive into technology and just go heads down on a task is significantly rarer than before, when I was mostly an implementer, a “do-er.” I use those terms intentionally because they go along with the following video:
This video popped up on my YouTube video feed because I’ve been studying on communications because as an enterprise architect, I need to do that just as well, if not better, than my technical skills. Note that Dr. Grace Lee indicates that effective communication is the highest level of value. Those who communicate better stand a better chance of getting promoted. That’s encouraging, but I’m going to for something a whole lot more basic: the better skilled we are communications, the more likely we will be understood. Whether we’re talking work colleagues or our families and friends, being understood is more important than we often give it credit for.
As I’ve thought about communications recently, I’ve settled on 3 questions I will try and ask myself. This applies to written communications as well.
- Do I need to speak here?
- What is it I’m trying to say?
- How do I say it?
I don’t need to talk all the time. I probably need to spend more time listening than talking. And there are plenty of times when what should be spoken should be said by someone else. Maybe I know the “right answer,” but I’m not the “right person” to give it. I best serve the situation by giving that person the opportunity to speak.
If I do need to speak, I want to be concise. If I say too much, what I’m trying to say will get lost in the sea of words. In order to be concise, I have to know what I want to say. Yes, I can ramble and figure it out as I talk out loud, but unless the purpose is brainstorming or something where we want to expose our thought processes out loud to potentially serve as a launching point for others, rambling is simply a waste of everyone else’s time.
Finally, I need to think about how to say what I want to say. If I want to be heard, I need to speak in a way that doesn’t put the other person on the defensive. My communications is not a cross-examination in a legal case. How I speak is just as important as what I want to say.