Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
By: Sanda Savić, Director of Corporate Business and Communication at Hemofarm
Students at the Faculty of Political Science – at least students some time ago – had the opportunity to learn about the importance of quality communication through examples from life. One of the professors greeted every new generation of students with a story about a man who lost his life because of poor communication, or rather in this case the poor transfer of the message. At that time, a coma in the wrong place caused the man, who was a prisoner, to be sentenced to death instead of being acquitted.
It is a story about the importance of proper communication in the time of telegraph. Today, in the most technically and technologically advanced stage of human civilization, we are faced with special challenges. Due to the abundance of information and communication channels, life in this 21st century often resembles a mega-beehive in which a deafening cacophony of sounds is additionally burdened with the abundance of visual cues and images. A person today is often faced with the dilemma: what should you trust more, your ears or your eyes? Is it the words we say or the image we offer about ourselves more important for success in business? The key is, actually, in equal treatment of the word and the image.
Of power of the ear and the eye
From two-plus decades of experience, largely gained in the field of journalism, I can tell you that although the world is becoming more and more visual, it cannot exist without the verbal. We all know the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. I tend to disagree! If there is no proper verbalization, the meaning of the image may remain cloudy. Just look at how many popular brand slogans we know, but at the same time we are not sure what their visual solutions look like. Of course, there are the opposite examples, but all this only proves that the image and word usually need to go together, as a complement or support to each other.
But how can we best present ourselves through both word and picture?
Of words (message) – How do we build the “Verbal Image” of ourselves
Regardless of the number of transformation it went through over the centuries, it seems that the WORD will survive everything. So go further than the definition that communication is the process of sending and receiving messages. A good communicator always guides communication intelligently, because they are aware that, in addition to sending a message, it has an impact on building relationships, building impressions, and opens the door for different personal and professional successes.
Experience has taught me there are five key factors for communication: TRUST (so the facts, the situation and yourself must never be presented different than they are), TRANSPARENCY (do not hide information about yourself, because today it is easier than ever to get accurate data), RESPONSIBILITY (meaning responsible behavior towards oneself, but also towards others, including responsible behavior in communication on social networks), REALITY (your personal brand should represent what you really are) and LOVE and PASSION as an indispensable spice (a job that you don’t love you either won’t do well, or won’t do for long).
The message is ACTION – it’s what moves things. It is always important to keep in mind that the message we send needs to be clear, precise and easy to understand, and depending on the situation, both brief and interesting. Whether your message will be perceived in the right way but also remembered depends not only on its content, but on the intonation and body speech. What you say is often remembered because of the way you said it. Therefore, speak slowly and clearly, and accentuate in the right places. The way a person speaks greatly influences the image they hold in the professional community.
Of image – How we build a “Personal visual”
When it comes to the personal image of each of us, it is created as a mix of different facets: business results and references, reputation, way of dealing with colleagues, communication skills, what the business community speaks about the individual, but also the impressions we create with our external appearance.
As we live in a time when images often dominate, this is why the image we have in the professional public is very important. Each of us becomes a personal brand, so it is important for us to build and nurture this brand.
Of course, the main trap is to find the balance between the actual and desired “I” in creating a personal image. A good example would be the recent opening of the Museum of Illusions. I wondered if only posing in the pictures looks so realistic, then how much of the relationships between people is an illusion, when you are constrained by channels and the context of communication. For this reason, my advice to colleagues, especially to young professionals: Before embarking on achieving a goal, do your own SWOT analysis, or look at your own strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. You will see that this meeting with the “blank sheet of paper” is not easy. Also, try to think well of how you see yourself, how others see you, and what do you think others see in you. This introspection of self and your own situation is often very useful (I apply it in some situations myself).
I personally belong among those who believe that for success, apart from good communication, other elements are important – such as knowledge, work, dedication, and circumstances.
Perhaps we are centuries away from the era of telegraphs, but the postulates and significance of quality communication have not lost their importance … on the contrary. We need to be aware that each of our public appearances sends a message, gives information about us, clarifies, confirms or corrects one’s opinion. Simply put, it affects others, and regardless of context, builds an image about us. That’s why communication doesn’t allow for relaxation! WORD and IMAGE, in tandem, have that unique power. Today’s humans are sometimes better listeners, other times they focus on visual more, but in any case someone is always observing both your verbal and visual self.
And remember, the leaders in the various branches, those remembered by history, were largely good communicators.