Communication is key!
By: Pavleen Bhatia
Tags: Relationships, Human Behavior, Communication, Short Story, Self Improvement

Thirteen-year-old Charles was walking through his school corridor when he came across this bulletin board which said — “COMMUNICATION IS KEY!” At this very moment, Miss Honey was walking through the same corridor when Charles caught her eye. Charles in his initial adolescent phase was always brimming a broth of questions in his head. He turned toward Miss Honey and asked her “Miss what er do you er think is umm communication?”

Miss Honey pondered upon the question for a while and answered: “It is how we privileged human beings who have the gift of the vocal cords share things with each other in the form of our needs, emotions as well as our thoughts with each other.” She went on to talk about how communication takes place when the message sent by a sender is clearly received by a receiver. It is then in very clear terms talking about meaningful things in a clear, calm and composed manner and making sure that the receiver understands what has been said. Charles was content at his discovery of this new word and ran to the library to search more about this vast term he had come across.

Miss Honey, on the other hand, went back to the staff room her mind clogged with a million emotions she had been feeling. She had that very morning gotten into a fight with her fiance Sir George. She was wondering how ironical it was that she was explaining a thirteen-year-old the meaning of communication but she herself wasn’t able to practice the art of it and apply it in her own life. She had suppressed emotions and was unable to convey to her fiance that she wanted to become an air hostess all this while. He had different expectations from her. He wanted her to be his songwriter. And all this while she was giving him false hopes. All this had led to a heavy black cloud formation in Miss Honey’s brain.

Charles in the library now was reading about communication. These are the things he came across:

Communication is being very frank about your emotions. This means that you convey your feelings to the other person who is at the receiving end as a robot i.e. “As they are felt” . An example could be Red talked about her day with Blue adding in all the emotions she was feeling at different intervals of time during the day, not thinking them through and not sieving them to protect Blue’s emotional reaction to them.

. An example could be Red talked about her day with Blue adding in all the emotions she was feeling at different intervals of time during the day, not thinking them through and not sieving them to protect Blue’s emotional reaction to them. Communication is when you put aside your ego your alter ego your subconscious mind and just going with what comes to your conscious mind. An example could be that Jane and Mary were quarreling over a boy whom both of them wanted to ask out.

and just going with what comes to your conscious mind. An example could be that Jane and Mary were quarreling over a boy whom both of them wanted to ask out. Communication is understanding the other person. This comes at the receiving end. When someone is telling you something they are showing their vulnerable sides to you and are expecting that you’ll raise the no judgment green flag from your side. It is very important that the receiver doesn’t humiliate the other person in any way or make them feel unwanted, rather listen to the speaker with a comforting look adding in a nod or one-word acceptances every now and then. An example could be Jughead was telling his father about his team losing the match. And his father asked him how he was feeling and offered him comforting advice.

This comes at the receiving end. When someone is telling you something they are showing their vulnerable sides to you and are expecting that you’ll raise the no judgment green flag from your side. It is very important that the receiver doesn’t humiliate the other person in any way or make them feel unwanted, rather listen to the speaker with a comforting look adding in a nod or one-word acceptances every now and then. An example could be Jughead was telling his father about his team losing the match. And his father asked him how he was feeling and offered him comforting advice. Communication is confronting and not backbiting. A very important point here thought Charles. He had seen many of his fellow students doing this. It is necessary that we confront the person if something relating to them is bothering us. Talking to a friend for advice is acceptable. But do not go all out with that particular friend and begin backbiting. It takes a lot of courage to confront someone while they’ve bothered you. But that is the only true solution. No one else would be able to satiate your cluttered emotions at a point like this. An example would be telling your crush that you like them. Well, do you think if we tell someone else about it we’d know our crush’s feelings? You get it right?

Charles was very delighted to learn so much about this new term he had come across. The next day at school he again came across Miss Honey who now told him that this world was full of people who are unable to follow this beautiful art of communication. She had talked to her fiance and it hadn’t been such a difficult task after all. He had helped her enroll in the course which would take her one step closer to her dream while helping him write songs based on her travel experiences.

Do we understand now? There is a solution to every problem only if we try and communicate. So go ahead talk to that one person relating to what has been bothering you. Is it your parents, siblings, friends or other half? It doesn’t matter. Just stop overthinking and take the plunge. Do not expect the other person to read your mind. As I mentioned earlier. None of us are blessed with the divine powers of Edward Cullen. Free your heart! Free your spirit! Take out that negative cluttered energy and turn it into something positive by delivering it to your receiver and shifting it to positive energy.

“Communication will bring understanding and understanding will cause harmonious mutual relationships which can establish peace and stability.”