Practice makes perfect with communication too.

I am reading a particularly interesting book at the moment...
Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin and although I am still to be convinced by some of the argument, the book did get me thinking about how we practice and what we practice.

In particular I started thinking about a topic which has come up and awful lot this week, communication. Why is it that we usually wait until communication breaks down before we do something about it? But instead what if we decided to proactively practice our communication.

So, I am going to pick a frequently discussed coaching topic "real conversations' v' 'talking' and challenge anyone out there who reads this to do the following exercise with their family, whatever it's shape, size and dynamic.

Your challenge is to sit together in a room for more than 30 mins and have a 'real' conversation, that is a conversation where you learn something about someone else in the room, about what they think or believe.

And here are the 'rules'.
1) The topic must be general, not related to an individual in the room- so no school, work, or activities based conversation.
2) It must not involve planning something (eg:- a holiday) or logistics.
3) The participants must all be involved, so no 'I have no idea' or 'I do not have an opinion.'
4) iI needs to be a topic big enough/ novel enough to learn something new.
5) Everybody has a right to be heard and a right for judgement to be suspended on their ideas.

Some topic ideas.

Do people engage in enough face to face conversations?
What is the most important lesson from the past we as a society are failing to listen to and which one do we do well?
What does being a refugee mean, and what circumstances would force you to be a refugee?
Do we really have freedom of speech?
What is democracy and what does that mean for us on a daily basis?
If your family was running the country what would you do differently and what the same?
Or another of your choice.

Controversial and real? Have fun practicing a real conversation and I would be very interested to know how you faired.

Comments

Kindness, a simple word with a powerful reach

When was the last time you were intentionally or unintentionally kind to someone else? Is there a 'type' of kindness you demonstrate regularly? To a particular type of person. Is it time to expand your repertoire? Kindness is contagious, essential for genuine human interactions and good for both parties. 'Random Acts of Kindness Org' posit being kind is linked to a decrease in stress, anxiety, depression and even blood pressure (see there website below). So not only does it help someone else but it is also good for us. So if you are up for a challenge you could try embedding the practice of kindness into your everyday. There are many resources for home, schools and businesses in the links below. And don't forget to be kind to yourself! https://kindness.org/ https://www.randomactsofkindness.org/

Is independently getting to school really so dangerous?

It's been a while I know and what brought me back was a conversation I had this morning, with several parents, about children travelling on public transport and walking to school. I clearly missed the memo which said it was unwise, and unsafe to let a child use a bus, train or their feet to get to school. In fact I was quite shocked about the conversation and so have done some reading. It seems (according to the 'West') parents in WA are far more uncomfortable than our European and British counterparts at letting our children independently get to school. Why? What is it about how we perceive our city and transport system which makes us so? Is Perth really more dangerous than London or Paris? Are our trains so inefficient we risk our child being stranded? Or are we simply worried the physical world is somehow fraught with danger? Dangerous, predatory people exist, they always have and always will, some of them will even catch buses and trains, ...

The value of time

I was asked this morning, what I would be getting my children for the 'silly season.' The truth of the matter is that I hadn't given it too much thought, mainly because it's still November but also because I don't want to think about it. My reticence is born partly of a desire not to buy into the commerciality of the process, of adding to the volume of 'stuff' in our lives but also because I again find myself borrowing from the 'Victorian' school of parenting and am running the gauntlet of judging and judgement. Presents are great, I love a good well thought out present as much as the next person. I am not proposing we should all turn into the Grinch or Scrooge and move away from all things gift like. But for a moment let's acknowledge the world has moved on, and while in the 1940's 50's and 60's a gift of chocolate or a toy was a novelty for children, in 2016 those things are readily available and our children are arguably ex...

From Clutter to Clarity

Search This Blog