Speaking is easy. Communicating… that's another story. PSC 16
You speak. He or she listens. But did they understand? Were they moved? Or simply exposed to a flood of information?
Communication is often confused with the act of speaking.
Yet PSC 16, communicating effectively, teaches us that the impact of a message depends not on the intention but on the reception. And that's where it gets complicated.
Communication is a shared responsibility. In a world where everything moves fast, where meetings come one after another, where notifications impose themselves like dialogues, we confuse transmitting with communicating.
But communicating isn't just expressing an idea or giving a directive. It's creating a bridge between two inner worlds, between two rhythms, two filters, two value systems. And that takes awareness, attention, and adaptation.
Communicating is first of all knowing yourself. You can't adapt your communication if you don't know how you function. Your words, your tone, your gaze, your rhythm, all of this speaks of you.
• Are you one of those who get straight to the point?
• Do you prefer to lay out feelings before reaching a conclusion?
• Your main need in an exchange: to be heard? Or to be right?
Knowing your behavioural preferences is a fundamental lever. The DISC, the saboteurs, the communication profile, all these tools help you see your style and its impacts, so you can better choose your words and adjust your channel.
Then, you need to learn to read the other person. What you say isn't always what the other person hears. And what the other person hears isn't always what you meant.
Effective communication is a dance. There's the intention, the emotion, the message, and the adaptation. In my adaptation of Deci & Ryan's self-determination theory, the fundamental psychological needs are:
• autonomy (I am free to choose),
• competence (I feel capable),
• relationships (I am connected to others),
• recognition (I feel seen and heard).
Communication that respects these pillars strengthens motivation, cooperation, confidence.
It's in the little nothings that everything changes. Sometimes, you need to rephrase. Sometimes, you need to stay quiet. Sometimes, you need to write rather than speak. And sometimes, you need to ask a question instead of giving an answer. Communicating effectively is making a conscious choice. Not to manipulate, but to co-construct.
🌱 Today's micro-action: Take a moment to think about an exchange planned in the next 48h. Can you adapt your style to the person you're speaking with? Not to please. But so the message gets through, the relationship takes hold, and cooperation becomes lasting.
Ask yourself these 3 questions:
- What is my goal in this conversation?
- What does this person know? What do they need in order to move forward?
- How can I adapt to them without betraying myself?
PSC 16 invites you to make every exchange a space for co-creation. Because speaking is easy. But communicating… is building together. And in an interconnected world, that makes all the difference between enduring and collaborating.
Here for you if you want to go further,
Krumma
