Nothing frustrates me more than a bad communicator, a person seemingly unable to correctly convey a simple message.
A bad communicator is akin to a bad executioner. He has to wield his ax several times to finally separates the head from the body, or the facts from fiction.
And this is painful to watch or to hear.
A good communicator on the other hand is a person who does not have to answer any superfluous questions after an announcement. Everything that needed to be said was said.
If you want to communicate effectively, you need to be methodical and mind the 4 W’s: Who, What, When, Where.
Who did it? What did he do? When did he do it, and where did it occur?
If you can do this concisely, you will be respected by your peers.
If you can’t, it will re-enforce your image of an untrustworthy individual.
I surmise that bad communication might also have something to do with speed.
In their haste to “scoop” competition, many people neglect accuracy for speed.
Forgetting or omitting details can often derail the true meaning of a document.
Texting (the favorite tool of high school dropouts) does not help either!
Grammar, syntax and accuracy are giving very short shrift and the lack of punctuation can significantly alter the meaning of a sentence.
Communication without accuracy can lead to misunderstanding, and misunderstanding can easily degenerate into conflicts.
An altered (edited) document (the Ems Dispatch) actually triggered the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and its disastrous consequences.
Demagogues are fond and make good use of half-truths. They are not bad communicators; they are selective communicators.
What they are not saying is as important as what they are saying, but it would be detrimental to their political career to be totally candid.
Before rushing to propagate a rumor, try to double-check its provenance and its accuracy. If (like Joseph McCarty) you cry wolf too many times, your credibility will be affected, questioned and ultimately censured.
If you have something to say, say it quickly, completely and accurately.
If you have nothing to say, don’t say anything, because it has been found (surprise) that no news is vastly superior to half-baked news!
Alain