Good Communication is Easy - Isn?t It?

My name is Steve Brummet and my business is to speak to businesses, teams, schools, churches, non profit organizations and just people about improving their communication skills. Most communication experts agree that good communication starts with understanding.

If we develop skills that help us better understand people, wont we be able to become better teachers, coaches, parents, salespeople and business people? Doesn't it make sense that if we learn to be more effective in our communication everything around us will change for the better?

I am asked all the time;

"Can't I be a good communicator by just opening my mouth and saying the words? Won't most people understand what I'm trying to say?"

I am going to answer that question by giving you a few examples of bad communication.

I had a good night tradition for my kids when they were little. Every evening since before they could talk, I would say good night and tuck them into bed a certain way.

"Alizabeth Kai Brummet. You are the most wonderful and amazing Alizabeth Kai Brummet in the whole wide world. God loves you . God made you and just the you are is special. Alizabeth Kai, God has a wonderful plan for your life. Goodnight, sweet dreams, I love you."

All I wanted to do was let my children know that they were very special and very loved. Simple, sweet and impossible to misunderstand. Right? Well?

One night I was telling Kai goodnight and when I got to the part about - "Alizabeth Kai, God has a wonderful plan for your life." She stopped me and asked;

Daddy. When will God give me my special plant?"

Special plant?!? One word, just one word changed much of my message to my daughter.

When I think of examples of bad communication, I think of the newspaper advertisement that read;

"For Sale - beautiful Braille bible. Must SEE to appreciate"

They missed their target audience by one word. SEE.

I have heard the radio ad for a miracle drug that promises to grow hair. The company is so proud of this product that they guarantee to double the amount of hair you have or your money back.

They never once tell me exactly where this hair will grow? what if they double the hair in my ears? Not very convincing is it?

My son gave me an example of miscommunication recently. At the end of a long road trip he yelled up from the back of the van;

"TURN DOWN THE RADIO! I'M TRYING TO SLEEP!"

Surprised at his behavior, I turned back to him and said;

"STEVEN KADE BRUMMET! You had better remember that you are talking to your DADDY!"

Of course I expected him to humbly rethink his position and answer me differently. Instead he cocked his head to one side, looked me kind of funny and said;

"DADDY! TURNDOWN THE RADIO! I'M TRYING TO SLEEP?"

I missed it. I failed in my communication with my son.

To improve your key relationships with clients, employees, children, students, spouses and more, you must improve your communication skills and understanding. But, good communication is easy. Isn't It??

Steve Brummet is a communication expert, writer and speaker who works with all types of organizations to increase understanding of communication styles.

Better communication can help you and your organization reduce stress and increase productivity. For more information on one of our workshops, please feel free to call or write.

http://www.communicationspeaker.com steve@stevebrummet.com 972-548-6048 214-578-4172

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Auto executives, from left, General Motors Chief Executive Officer Richard Wagoner, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger,  Ford Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally, and Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Robert Nardelli testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008, before a Senate Banking Committee hearing on the auto industry bailout.  (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)AP - U.S. automakers drew fresh skepticism from lawmakers Thursday in a rocky confrontation over their pleas for an expanded $34 billion rescue package they say they need to survive. Congressional analysts said one bailout plan under consideration would fall short of what the carmakers want.



A Railway Special Forces personnel keeps guard at Mumbai's main train station, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, in Mumbai, India, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008. India suspects that two senior leaders of a banned Pakistani militant group master minded last week's three-day terrorist attacks that killed 171 people in Mumbai, an Indian intelligence official said Thursday. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)AP - Airports in India went on high alert Thursday following fresh attack warnings, and officials said India suspects two senior leaders of a banned Pakistani militant group orchestrated last week's deadly Mumbai attacks.



A wounded Iraqi policeman is brought to a hospital in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008. The man was among two policemen wounded when their patrol car was struck by a roadside bomb. i(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)AP - Suicide bombers killed 17 people — including two American soldiers — and wounded more than 100 in a string of blasts in two Iraqi cities Thursday as a timetable for withdrawing all U.S. troops won final government approval.



Caren Ramirez is shown in this booking photo provided by the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Department on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008. Ramirez was arrested in connection with alleged abuse against her 17 year-old nephew who showed up Monday, Dec. 1, 2008 at a northern California gym with a chain locked to his ankle. (AP Photo/ San Joaquin County Sheriff's Department)AP - A California couple has been charged with kidnapping and torturing a 17-year-old boy police say they sometimes kept shackled in their home.



Good Samaritan Society nursing home in Albert Lea, Minn. is seen in an August 208 photo. Two teenage girls who worked at Good Samaritan Society nursing home have been charged with abuse, accused of taunting, spitting on and groping the breasts and genitals of residents who suffered from Alzheimer's disease and other dementia disorders in a complaint filed Monday, Dec. 1. 2008. Brianna Broitzman, 19, and Ashton Larson, 18, were charged as adults.  Four other teens who worked with them at the Good Samaritan Society were charged as juveniles for failing to report the incidents.(AP Photo/Albert Lea Tribune, Brie Cohen)AP - Two teenage girls who worked at a nursing home have been charged with abuse, accused of taunting, spitting on and groping residents who suffered from Alzheimer's disease.



This undated file photo released by the White House shows President Lyndon Johnson as he sits with three of his beagles during a flight to his Texas ranch aboard Air Force One. (AP Photo/White House, FILE)AP - In the last months of his administration, President Lyndon Johnson voiced worry over the Vietnam peace talks and stridently suggested that associates of Richard Nixon were attempting to keep South Vietnam away from the table until after the 1968 election, recordings of telephone conversations released Thursday show.



In this photo taken Oct. 29, 2005, Dominic Spano, front, of New Milford, Conn., and his son, Michael Spano, 12, load an MG-42 machine gun during the Westfield Sportsman's Club's annual Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the club ground in Westfield, Mass. It was announced Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008, that Dominic Spano and two other men were indicted on charges of involuntary manslaughter in the death of 8-year-old Christopher Bizilj, who accidentally shot himself in the head with an Uzi during a gun show at the Westfield club in October 2008.  (AP Photo/The Republican, Christopher Evans)AP - Three men, including a small-town police chief, were indicted Thursday on involuntary manslaughter counts in the gun-fair death of an 8-year-old who accidentally shot himself in the head with an Uzi that a prosecutor said he never should have been allowed to handle.



In this April 19, 2007 file photo, Erik Estrada poses on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles.  (AP Photo/Nick Ut, file)AP - Erik Estrada has returned to Muncie to take part in overnight police patrols in the city where he starred in the short-lived reality series "Armed & Famous." The former star of the 1970s motorcycle cop drama "CHiPs" is a reserve officer on the Muncie Police Department.



AP - A New Jersey woman is suing a Pennsylvania sports bar and restaurant, saying she got stuck inside a toilet bowl for 20 minutes when the seat broke. Kathleen Hewko, of Delran Township, said she was in the bathroom at Starters Pub in an Allentown suburb when the handicapped toilet seat she was sitting on cracked and dumped her into the bowl.

In this Oct. 7, 2008, file photo, New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith is shown during a  football game against the Carolina Panthers at the Superdome in New Orleans. The NFL Players Association is suing to block five of the six player suspensions for violating the league's anti-doping policy. The suit filed in federal court is on behalf of Kevin Williams and Pat Williams of the Minnesota Vikings, and Charles Grant, Deuce McAllister and Will Smith of the New Orleans Saints. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon,file)AP - A federal judge will be asked to decide Friday whether five suspended NFL players deserve a chance to play this weekend. At issue is whether the league had a duty to notify its players and their union that a dietary supplement the five took contained a banned ingredient.



Robert Nardelli, Chairman and CEO of Chyrsler LLC, testifies during the Senate Banking Committee hearing on the financial assistance package for the big Detroit automakers on Capitol Hill, December 4, 2008. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters)Reuters - The top executives of the major U.S. automakers faced skeptical questioning on Capitol Hill as they pleaded for $34 billion in federal aid and warned of a possible collapse that would jeopardize millions of jobs.



The AT and T logo in an undated photo. AT and T said on Thursday it would eliminate 12,000 jobs, about 4 percent of its workforce, as it joins a raft of corporations trying to slash costs in the face of the economic downturn. (Handout/Reuters)Reuters - Top U.S. phone company AT&T Inc said it will eliminate 12,000 jobs, or about 4 percent of its workforce, in a fresh wave of cuts to cope with an economic downturn that has exacerbated a decline in traditional phone sales.



A job seeker visits the ASSEDIC (jobless insurance) agency booth in Marseille, December 2, 2008. (Jean-Paul Pelissier/Reuters)Reuters - The European Central Bank, Britain and Sweden all made big cuts in interest rates on Thursday to shore up economies across Europe in the face of ever-bleaker financial news.



Closed circuit television footage released on December 3, 2008 shows gunmen walking across a parking lot after a shooting spree at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus train station in Mumbai on November 26, 2008. (Investigating Team Video via Reuters TV/Reuters)Reuters - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday Pakistan had given assurances of its commitment to root out terrorism and round up anyone connected to last week's attack in the Indian city of Mumbai.



Reuters - Iraq's Presidency Council has approved a security pact with the United States that paves the way for a complete U.S. troop pullout by the end of 2011, a spokesman for the council said on Thursday.

A shopkeeper is seen at an electronics shop in Moscow during Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's annual question-and-answer session with the Russian people, December 4, 2008. (Denis Sinyakov/Reuters)Reuters - The United States will quickly feel a change in attitude from Moscow if President-elect Barack Obama transforms Washington's policies toward Russia, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.



Thailand's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej attends the annual Trooping of the Colour, an annual military parade, in Bangkok's Royal Plaza, December 2, 2008. (Adrees Latif/Reuters)Reuters - Thailand's revered and influential king missed his traditional birthday eve address due to illness on Thursday, a speech many Thais had hoped would provide short-term relief to the country's intractable political crisis.



A still from a 2002 advertising campaign launched by the U.S. government to persuade Muslims around the world that U.S. Muslims are free to live and worship as they wish. (Handout/Reuters)Reuters - Hate crimes against Arab Americans have decreased steadily since the September 11 attacks but are still more common than they were before the hijackings, a civil rights group said on Thursday.



European Central Bank (ECB) President Jean-Claude Trichet gives a press conference after a meeting of ECB governors in Brussels. Leading European central banks took historic action Thursday to ward off spreading recessions, slashing their key lending rates to boost businesses and consumers.(AFP/BELGA/Dirk Waem)AFP - Leading European central banks took historic action Thursday to ward off spreading recessions, slashing their key lending rates to boost businesses and consumers.



A map locating the western Iraqi city of Fallujah. Car bombers killed at least 15 people in a former rebel bastion on Thursday as Iraq's security pact with Washington won final approval before its launch at the end of the month.(AFP/Graphic)AFP - Car bombers killed at least 15 people in a former rebel bastion on Thursday as Iraq's security pact with Washington won final approval before its launch at the end of the month.




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