Communication is a highly studied, yet under practiced skill set in most organizations and even in daily society. We’ve benefited from a global development in the way people are able to connect; what would take several months for a letter to be received can now be done in several seconds though the use of email and fax. Despite this, digital media given us a new way to mix messages, reaffirming that the encoding and decoding process is only as good as the communicators make it. This can be seen in the suggestion: “let’s eat, grandma” or “let’s eat grandma” (unknown, n.d.). Words, and more specifically their meaning matter. That being said, the encoding and decoding process can be navigated with greater ease when the type of communicator you’re messaging with is identified.
Marcel Schwantes, founder and CHO of Leadership to the core; and INC. contributor identifies 4 personality types of communicators. The leader communicator is identified as being results driven, and while sometimes abrasive is necessary to a group because they don’t fear failure. The free-spirited communicator that serves as an adaptive and joyful addition to the team. The no-nonsense communicator that serves in a very passionate and highly-motivated role, and lastly the social communicator; they identify as being the facilitator and is highly in tuned to other’s feelings and are self-aware (Schwantes, 2017). Marcel goes on to state that the social communicator is the best communicator of the 4 styles based on their drive to develop, nurture, and connect with others.
This is important to note because when you’re focus is on people rather than just the message, less of the data is to be lost so long as the communicator resists an egocentric bias. Such can be seen in the Kruger, Epley, Parker, and Ng study in 2005. The researchers found that there existed a 13% difference in what participants had thought would be received from a message and what actually was received. This effect is greatly multiplied when outside cultural elements are introduced. Abbot and Costello’s famous “Who’s on first” routine would be far harder, if not impossible to understand if the decoder of the message was unfamiliar with American humor or the sport of Baseball.
So, what remains the best method to become a more efficient encoder within a global context? I believe Marcel Schwantes gives us an excellent framework to work from. Working to focus on people and bring them together to solve issues and communicate is the first step on working to be an excellent communicator on a global scale. The second part of that is working with the team you’ve developed to create a diverse and constructive environment, where people can use their strengths and culture to help facilitate when a leader is unsure. The lesson reinforces this point when it points out that “even a small team of you and someone who will proofread your e-mail, or a colleague you trust who will play devil’s advocate to give you the other side of the story, will aid in shaping a more effective message for global communication” (OLEAD 410, 2019).
Communication will continue to be an under practiced skill set. In order to be great communicators, it will be something that we will have to continually work on, utilizing the tools we seek out such as Marcel Schwantes’ classification of communication personalities. These tools will help us transition to a more effective communicator. We must also use these tools to build teams that will help us interact with those that are culturally diverse from us or think differently than we do. In closing, there’s a simple and pure reminder from Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu reminding us not to be frustrated in times when communication gets difficult; “don’t raise your voice, improve your argument”. If we can consider people first, the message will follow because we’ll know the heart behind it.
Citations:
Movement, R. S. (2015, December 2). 21 Famous and Funny Communication Quotes. Share Away! Retrieved from https://redshoemovement.com/communication-quotes-famous-funny/
Schwantes, M. (2017, January 31). Which of These 4 Personality Types Are You? Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/4-communication-styles-of-super-successful-teams-which-are-you.html
Kruger, J., Epley, N., Parker, J., & Ng, Z. (2005). Egocentrism over e-mail: Can we communicate as well as we think? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89(6), 925–936. doi:10.1037/00223514.89.6.925
Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2019). OLEAD 410 Lesson 4: Global communication. Retrieved September 13, 2019 from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2008449/modules#module_3363596
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