For the next while, interspersed among other articles, I will be writing posts on the "Tools Within the Tools (TWT) which I have in my book "Contextual Communication, Organization & Training(c)".
These are tools that we can use to improve our communication in various situations.
TWT #1: "The 1-11 Measuring Scale"
As I say in my book, if 100% is good communication and 50% efficiency and below (which is pretty poor) is what most people communicate at, on a scale of 1 to 11 from one extreme to the other, 1 being 0% and 11 being 100%, we have something like this:
We can use this scale to measure present daily communication habits or scenarios by asking ourselves: "On a scale of 1 to 11, where do I stand as the speaker (sender) or as the listener (receiver), or where does my listener stand?
When faced with a particular communication problem, using this scale, ask yourself: "On a scale of 1 to 11, where does that problem of communication fall between the two extremes?"
This will identify the level of the problem and the equivalent level of corrective action required.
If the problem falls halfway, then ask yourself: "What would the two extremes be if it extended one way or another?" In other words what would be the worst or the best scenario at each end of the scale? This will show what worst destructive or best constructive that could be anticipated.
For example, if the problem of communication you are assessing falls at the 50% level as you candidly assess (you have to be honest with yourself and with others with whom you communicate), then obviously you want it to move from that 50% poor level toward the 100% mark which is good-positive-constructive.
The next question is "how can I improve this communication problem?"
Then, begin to write down various ideas that you can start using. Many of these ideas are discussed in the book.
The next TWT will expand on the 2 extremes analysis of bad to good./dmh
Cheers and good communication!
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