Seriously, I had a dream about useful communication. I think by the time I tell this story it will seem pretty trivial and uninformative, but it’s a story I really feel like telling.

In my dream the other night, I was part of a team transferred to an existing department. I seemed to be in a hospital and I seemed to be a doctor, but not being a doctor nor working in a hospital, I’m not certain.

The existing department had a ritual of singing a particular song at the beginning of meetings and my team was expected to sing it. This was supposed to be some kind of team-building exercise. Unfortunately, no one on my team was familiar withe the song. And, like the national anthem at sporting events, only a few people around us seemed to be singing, and were mumbling. The whole affair seemed to be some weird Gregorian chant.

My team certainly did not feel like they were part of the larger group in this so-called team-building event; I chose to speak up about it. (Generally in my dreams, I’m unable to speak at all.)

I was very eloquent in my argument that if this was to be a team-building exercise then it would be more useful to ensure that the whole team be involved. The department could have:

• supplied my team with the lyrics to the song,
• ensured that their members knew the lyrics and would sing them clearly,
• chosen a song that would be familiar to a larger group, including my team, or
• found some other way to welcome us to the team.

This reminds me of my audience analysis post, without being directly related. It’s essential to any communication to know your audience; if anything, know what they already know and speak to what they don’t. And people will be much more engaged when the communication is obviously intended for them.

Image by Free-StockPhotos.com

Because it’s been three months since my last post, I will first apologize for being absent. I’ve been working on getting a fulltime job, which I have now abandoned in favour of freelance work and blogging.

I’ll have a longer, useful post later today, but for now, I’m sorry. I hope you’ll stay tuned for more and become a regular subscriber despite my prolonged absence.