Compounding Communication

Image credit: Solutions.3m.com

We are organic, biological units and as such we are part of what we refer to as “nature”. Although we invented the wheel, we don’t need to go very far to look at why we invented it and what we are trying to enhance. Speed and mobility are characteristics of all life forms; what we learn as humans is how other life forms exhibit these characteristics and how we can learn from them.

Communication

Where there is life, there is communication. 

We have our innate non-verbal creative form of communication and develop words to symbolize that language; to enable us to share our ideas, thoughts and feelings with others.

@Ali Anani, in his work, has turned connecting the process of nature and the process of business into an art form. One of the aspects of these processes that Dr. Ali has highlighted is “triads”. As he writes, “triads are everywhere”. This has enabled me to “see” things in a new light and I now connect everything to nature and to this triadic relationship; relationships that exist in our internal and external environments.

Words are like molecules. 

“The three dimensional shape or configuration of a molecule is an important characteristic. This shape is dependent on the preferred spatial orientation of covalent bonds to atoms having two or more bonding partners.”

For the purpose of this post, I will focus on the three words, awareness, talent and choice and discuss the covalent bonding which I see taking place as these words are formed and in turn shape our communication.

A discussion about talent started by @David Navarro López has been taking place on beBee. The discussion has included the thoughts, insights and opinions of @Irene Hackett, @Praveen Raj Gullepalli and @CityVP Manjit. From this I have extrapolated the following perspective discussed within the metaphor of words as molecules and synonyms as electrons.

Synonyms as electrons. 

Like the molecule, I see each word as having its distinct three dimensional shape or configuration. And like the molecule, I see each word bond to other words as bonding partners.

Now here is what makes communication so complex. There is no room for interpretation when it comes to molecules in nature; they have their configuration and we know what makes them bond and how they bond. We can recognize each molecule and predict its behavior.

When it comes to words, humans construct the configuration of each word subjectively. Which pairing we make and what connotation is formed is unpredictable and dependent on time and circumstance. That is why I think questions are more helpful than the actual answer.

In the discussion mentioned above, the following unspoken questions were being discussed:

- What is talent?

- Is it innate or developed?

- What are the characteristics that are attached to talent?

- Would these characteristics include awareness, consciousness, experience, responsibility, will, intent?

- Does talent depend on others and/or the environment? How does choice fit in with this discussion of talent?

The individual and subjective answers of the readers are, to say the least, thought provoking, interesting and expansive. But there is not one answer, just as the chart above reflects. So many configurations can be created from one word and its synonyms. And so many bonds can take place with the interaction of those words and synonyms. Human communication is complex. Nature seems to simplify the matter, as discussed above, with the clear and predictable way molecules form and bond.

In his Buzz, "Different Facets of Growth", Dr. Ali writes, "Trees don't forget that vertical growth needs support from strong roots and stems." Nature is focused on what it is innately set up to do; survive. It’s path and means are clear; no distraction, no forgetting. Humans get distracted and can forget what they are doing and why. How many times have we said or have heard someone else say, “Now, where was I?”

Image credit: www.foodandwine.hu

Human emotion has to be factored into all communication.

We express ourselves all the time, in all sorts of ways. And we listen to one another. But we do not simply, passively receive a communication. We construct the message (and even the sender!) for ourselves, using a mix of what we have heard, what we hope we did not hear, who we are, who we think the message sender is, what our values and expectations are, what our moods and contexts are, our memories of previous interactions, etc. So, misunderstanding between two people is inevitable, no matter how much they try to communicate, no matter who they are, no matter what their relationship. This situation is inevitable, and it should be accepted rather than fought.
Gilbert J. Rose - Between Couch and Piano: Psychoanalysis, Music, Art and Neuroscience, 2014

In concluding the opening discussion of the words awareness, talent, and choice, I will let @CityVP Manjit have the last word.

The innate talent of choice is the fundamental talent, it is the core heartbeat of talent, because we do not grow without each other. Without serving something of value (which is always in relationship to someone else) talent becomes meaningless.