Sorry I can’t hear you, your personality is too loud

Sitting in the office we were asked to think of a blog based around something we are enthused about and how this might relate to the work that we do.  I have many interests, but at heart I am a frustrated artist, cursed with knowing enough to know I’m not very good.  If anyone would be daft enough… have the good taste to buy any of my drawings or paintings that would be me in heaven.  Alas this is not to be, and I am but mediocre, however, despite the frustrations I enjoy making a very good mess!

But what has this got to do with what I do now?  Well, thinking about what I like, I was reminded of a time I was walking round an art gallery with a friend and in amongst the classics like your Canaletto’s and Stubbs there was a section on modern art, with works by the likes of Mondrian, Klee and Kandinsky.  While I was admiring the work my friend stormed by without giving them a second look.  I’ll not use his exact expression, but he said he was not going to waste his time looking at … ‘rubbish!’.  

There then followed a colourful discussion on the skill taken to paint Raphael compared to a Pollock.  What I tried to explain was that the actual technicality of the painting was not the main issue, the key was the concept, the rules it was re-writing and message it was trying to convey.  Unfortunately, I fear, I made little headway into his opinions on modern art.  Although, he fully appreciated the hidden meanings in old masters, he could not see the meaning in their modern-day counterparts.  It would seem, for him, that the voice of the art had being drowned out by the way it had been painted.  

This got me thinking of communication in general.  How many times do good messages, or good intentions get lost simply because people cannot get over the way in which they are being presented.  It reminded me of an old adage, ‘I can’t hear what you’re saying for the way you are saying it’.  

The messages we deliver in life are not just made up of the words we say and the intent behind them.  Many, many times the effectiveness of a message lies not in its content, but in its style of delivery.  To be an effective communicator you must have a rich pallet of communications skills and strategies in order to paint the best possible picture for the person you are talking to if you are to be truly appreciated and understood.  

Here at Macnaughton McGregor we do not promise to make you artist, but we will help you paint with words. 

Shaun Curry specialises in Behavioural Safety, you can get in touch with him via shaun@2macs.com