I was driving to Rite Aid the other night and a discussion took place in my head, an imaginary one, of course. At this point I don't exactly remember the details of that discussion, but the overall thought was on articulation. When we are speaking, the point, at least it should be, is that we are trying to communicate something. This may not seem like an amazing revelation, but you would be amazed at how many people do not give much regard about being articulate. It makes perfect sense that when communicating, we should use the most accurate, succinct and appropriate words. This means a couple of things. First, we need a vocabulary. The larger the vocabulary, the more accurate we can be. Second, and this follows from the first point, we need understanding. Not simply of what words mean, but how others use and understand words. If we have a perfect grasp of English, but our listener has a second grade education level, our communication attempts may be in vain, if we do not understand the limitations of our listener. Third, and this follows from the second, we need to know how and when to speak. This involves understanding the circumstances in which we speak. Understanding the time required to adequately communicate our message and the mentality/personality of our listener are both vital. If we do not have enough time to communicate or if our listener is not interested, for whatever reason, we are wasting our time.
Finally, we need to learn how to listen, knowing our speaker and understanding the context in which they speak and think. We cannot presume logic, clarity and coherence. It very well could be that the one to whom we are listening finds a great challenge in simply trying to articulate their thoughts.
This is the biggest challenge, as frustration may quickly follow, on the part of the speaker or the listener.
But it comes down to this. Articulation is an incredible tool with the potential for wonderful results. Work at it.
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