Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Communication Styles

When I was a youth pastor, I used to believe if I had communicated something in one format, I was good to go.  For youth ministry, my preferred format was the calendar.  If there was ever any question or doubt about something related to the youth ministry, I'd (arrogantly and smugly, mind you) play my trump card: "it's on the calendar".  Thinking my trump card would win the dispute, I now realize I actually lost every time I said those words, because when it comes to communication, it doesn't matter where I've put the information if the intended recipient isn't getting the information.

Really, you can replace "calendar" with any number or church communication tools such as "bulletin", "email", or "announcement", but if you have to use the words "it's in/on the ______", you've already lost. 

Communication is similar to learning- just as there are different learning styles, there are different communication styles.  Each of us has a preference on how we send and receive communication.  Some live by email while others prefer text messages.  Some tweet while others use Facebook.  Some still want to get something in the mail while others prefer you pick up a phone.  The key to effective communication is figuring out how your recipients prefer to receive their communication and then doing it. 

The challenge, obviously, is that your recipients probably have different styles. 

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