You’re listening to me, but why don’t you hear?

I have spent a lot of time these last few weeks talking about talking. It may sound a strange statement, but we often hit a metaphorical brick wall when we try to communicate a new idea or thought to other people. Why does this happen? Is it because we just don’t articulate our thoughts and views well enough? Have we prepared badly and/or not used the right vocabulary for the audience? Is it that people aren’t prepared to “hear” what is being communicated to them? We might listen to a different perspective or point of view to our own, but are we prepared to hear it, to measure the content and then objectively make a decision on the content? In a meeting or presentation, we can with the right technique encourage people to listen, but do they hear and then understand our point of view or modify their behaviour? We need to be able to engage our audience and develop a dialogue. The dialogue must of course be two-way we also have to listen and “hear” the response and potentially modify our behaviour too if we are at fault.

Many of the issues we face globally are complicated and not always clear-cut such as climate change, food and water security, dietary and health choices. An expert lecturing and scolding will often entrench behaviour and does “nanny” always really know best? People accept the message when they trust the messenger, so who is the right messenger? Will we trust experts, scientists, politicians, maybe not if they cannot demonstrate that they are one of us, and definitely not if they don’t lead by example. If someone flies in a private jet to deliver a message on climate change does that devalue their message to their audience? These ethereal issues are often not the most pressing that people face. If you are too frightened to walk alone where you live because you fear for your safety then going to the recycling centre isn’t high on your list of priorities. If you have to feed a family on a limited income, it will often affect the products that you can busy no matter how much “advice” you receive on healthy eating. Only when global issues are discussed within the context of daily life and not as a separate agenda will people become engaged. Only when we demonstrate our worth, our understanding, and our empathy will we finally cease to devalue the message we are delivering and then we will be effective.