When I teach self-defense, I focus on the three A’s – Awareness, Avoidance, Action. The best defense is being aware of your surroundings (don’t walk alone at night down a street with your earphones in, blasting loud music and looking at your screen texting – never know what will run into you….) and avoiding situations that are more risky (choose to walk along a well-lit street with lots of people instead of the dark alley shortcut). If those don’t work, then take quick, bold and decisive action to make sure you survive the encounter.
Good communication takes the same thing:
· Be AWARE of what you are communicating, to whom, of what they are saying, did they hear you, did you walk away with the same expectations, etc. In other words, PAY ATTENTION. Don’t Communicate While Distracted! (Or, you might just get a ticket!)
· AVOID the basic pitfalls of poor communication, especially those that make you have to do it a second (or third time) to get it right. Make sure to include everyone that needs to know, be clear on who has to do what, set deadlines and clear expectations, confirm handoffs, confirm everyone is on the same page, are they focused solely on you when you are talking to them, etc.
· Take quick, bold and decisive ACTION to correct communication errors as soon as you see them. The quicker they are addressed and fixed, the less painful they will be. And, keep the emotion out of it. Emotion just makes it messier.
“Paying attention to simple little things that most men neglect makes a few men rich.” – Henry Ford
“Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
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