Your
Communication is Your Art
Be
you at your best
By
Jeffrey Hansler, CSP
There
are five elements necessary for art: 1) order, 2) balance,
3) contrast, 4) unity, and 5) harmony. By approaching
your communication efforts with the intention of doing your
best, your work becomes art. It becomes a personal
statement about you and your reason for being.
Although,
it is easy to "get by" with minimal effort, think
of the consequences. If U2 simply wanted to be like
the Stones or the Beatles, there would be no U2.
Stephen King like London, no King.
Like
visual art, your verbal art can touch the emotions of the
people you are communicating with. The results of
those efforts will contribute both to you and others.
By
approaching your communication as art, you can take the most
mundane conversation and make it exciting. Think of
how good you would feel and how this will make your daily
activities come alive.
To
create ORDER in your communication, create a system to guide
repetitive encounters in a manner most effective for you and
those you are communicating with.
Seek
BALANCE in how you approach your communication.
Practice gathering your emotions for effective listening.
Demonstrate that you are listening visually with head nods
and eye contact. Take care of the systems that allow
you to communicate, your mind and your body.
Allow
and create opportunities of CONTRAST. Creativity rises
through the inspiration of contrast. Alternating
between activity and rest provides the necessary perspective
to bring in elements that might otherwise be lost.
Maintain
UNITY by striving for a holistic solution, one that is not
compartmentalized, but will last under multiple pressures.
Finally,
bring HARMONY into your communication. Allow ORDER to
interact with CONTRAST and UNITY to explore systems of
ORDER. HARMONY is the result of playful interaction
between the first four elements of art, and HARMONY is its
own reward.
#
# # # #
Jeffrey
Hansler is a professional speaker, author, and consultant.
He is a frequent speaker at association events and is the
author of Sell Little Red Hen! Sell! He can be reached at jhansler@oxfordco.com.
Click
here for a .pdf version of this page
Click
here to access our article request form to secure
permission to use or reprint this article
©
2004 Jeffrey Hansler All rights reserved
|
