I have to admit that communication is a complete mystery to me. I like to think things through logically, but I’ve never been able to fathom communication.
I’m constantly amazed by the things that people regard as exciting because they understand it, even if it’s not really very exciting at all. I’m even more amazed by the things people regard as exciting even though they don’t understand it.
I’m sure that the answer is in communication, but that is still a mystery to me.
A little while I started out on a mission to have more meaningful conversations. My aim was to have one every day, well that has proved impractical, but I have still managed a significant number.
What I am starting to conclude is that communication is more of an art than a science. What I mean by this is that communication involves far more emotion and heart than logic. Engage with people’s feelings and they are open to communication, engage with their logic and most people aren’t. Be passionate about something and they will engage, give them the facts and they probably won’t.
Why don’t people engage with emails? Because it’s just communicating facts.
Why do people engage with video conferencing? Because it engages their feelings.
The challenge and the mystery is born out of the subjectivity of any art which means that people engage with it in completely different ways.
How you engage with the picture at the start of this blog depends on so many different things. I was there so I know what it felt like, but how the picture makes you feel depends upon your history, your upbringing, your experiences, your preferences. Each one of these will influence your emotional reaction to it.
I’d like there to be a formula for communication, but there isn’t one, I’ll just have to learn to be a better artist.
Graham Chastney 