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Quotes from educators, motivational speakers, writers, and business leaders offer insightful observations about a company’s most basic activity: namely, the communication that threads through every aspect of business life. Here are their remarks that appeared on Brainy Quote (brainyquote.com).
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” – George Bernard Shaw
“To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.”-Tony Robbins
“I think it’s [very] important to have a feedback loop, where you’re constantly thinking about what you’ve done and how you could be doing it better. I think that’s the single best piece of advice: constantly think about how you could be doing things better and questioning yourself.” – Elon Musk
“Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud.” – Hermann Hesse
“The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.” -Peter Drucker
Each quote holds particular significance for the workplace. Only through a feedback loop will business leaders or managers truly know whether they have communicated an intended message to their employees.
Information must also flow up from employees to management. If, instead, communication within a company comes from the top down, then those in authority forfeit the opportunity to hear what their employees think in response to decisions that bring change.
The quote from Hermann Hesse, author of Siddhartha, Demean, and The Glass Bead Game (among others) suggests a disconnect exists between thought and speech. By increasing the amount of conscious effort placed into what we plan to say, we can make better connections.
Regarding Tony Robbin’s quotation, understanding how others view the world differently than we do helps us to think through the messages we send, leading to clearer communication. To do this, the person initiating the communication must be able to think beyond himself or herself.
A company’s training department may teach essential communication skills, corporate managers may very well continue to ignore the necessity until something happens. Turnover increases. Productivity decreases. Revenues fall. Once such results reach their offices, the managers in charge must find a way to turn the situations around. First, they must identify the factors that contribute to negative outcomes.