Some Important Thoughts on the Importance of Communication

Bad human communication leaves us less room to grow.

- Rowan D. Williams

“Don't use words too big for the subject. Don't say infinitely when you mean very; otherwise you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.” 
― C.S. Lewis

“Constantly talking isn't necessarily communicating.” 

― Charlie Kaufman

“Stephen Covey, in his book The 8th Habit, decribes a poll of 23,000 employees drawn from a number of companies and industries. He reports the poll's findings: 


* Only 37 percent said they have a clear understanding of what their organization is trying to achieve and why 
* Only one in five was enthusiastic about their team's and their organization's goals
* Only one in five said they had a clear "line of sight" between their tasks and their team's and organization's goals 
* Only 15 percent felt that their organization fully enables them to execute key goals 
* Only 20 percent fully trusted the organization they work for 


Then, Covey superimposes a very human metaphor over the statistics. He says, "If, say, a soccer team had these same scores, only 4 of the 11 players on the field would know which goal is theirs. Only 2 of the 11 would care. Only 2 of the 11 would know what position they play and know exactly what they are supposed to do. And all but 2 players would, in some way, be competing against their own team members rather than the opponent.” 
― Chip Heath, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die