Be More Convincing

Here's a great tip for getting the other person in the communication situation to grasp your meaning:

You're probably all too aware that you deal with a lot of people with whom you don't have that much in common. Maybe you're a Southerner; they're from California. You studied painting; they studied accounting. You love snow boarding; they hate snow.

As the saying goes, it takes all kinds to make the world go 'round.

But, these differences may also make effective communication a challenge.

So, the bottom line is, you need to select symbols from the other person's frame of reference. In some cases, you might even want to use what you think are tired sports analogies. I really got a point across to my students when I explained that each subsequent speech would be graded more severely than the previous one -- it would be like jumping up several levels in a video game. Ah....I saw the lights go on.

If you use anecdotes and analogies that are most comfortable and familiar to you, the result is the listeners have to make too much effort to get you, and so they'll most likely tune you out....maybe permanently.

To establish an authentic connection, which you know is one life's most rewarding experiences, take the time and trouble to use the other person's lingo, values, hobbies (all that stuff that makes up a person's frame of reference,) to get your message across.