Here I am concentrating upon having a simple straightforward picture of what we are saying before and when we are speaking. Having a picture "in our minds eye" is critical to speaking clearly, interestingly and effectively.
I was fortunate last night to see this in action in London at a stage performance of a story - a poem written by the German poet Wolfgang Goethe entitled The Green Snake and The Beautiful Lily. The performers lived their characters so thoroughly you could "see" the pictures they had in their heads and hearts and through how they moved,silently, while a narrator spoke the poem.
It was a graphic presentation of invisible pictures held by the artists.
To speak clearly and in a living way we need to push along this same path.
To go back to one of my earlier posts with the title "Immeasurable Help" - with a voice recording attached. There I described my hearing, when trying to help resolve a conflict between two people, the heartfelt speaking of this phrase by one of them. I "replayed" it back to both. This helped them realise what they had to do and they did it.
The art is not to leave doing this for just the key or most important words we are saying. The skill - the best way to develop - is to create and work from key pictures more and more until, like the performers last night we hold pictures of what we intend to speak all the time, making our speech truly living speech.
Sunday 25 March 2012
Monday 5 March 2012
The role and context from which you are speaking
Making yourself clear and interesting when you speak reduces considerably unnecessary disagreement with what you are saying. This is particularly the case when you ensure those with whom you are speaking know your role or task - your "authority" for what you are saying.
An example is where you have been asked - or decided - to get something done which requires the support and help of others. When speaking, the person with the task, needs to describe the 'role' and/or task he or she has taken on - clearly, and ideally with enthusiasm!
Doing this the 'speaker' enables the listener to understand, appreciate and respond (more) positively to what they hear from you. Without this information there is a potential risk - 'barrier' - the listener will say "Why should I do that?" and not contribute towards what is needed. And then you have to spend time and energy unpicking the barrier rather than continuing your enthusiasm.
In an interesting way this is acknowledging the "Rights" both the listener has for knowing what is going on and you have to say what it is you are doing.
Not having unnecessary barriers or using time to retrospectively clarify and resolve your role and task means you create a safe, warm, open and exciting climate within which creative and imaginative thinking from creative and imaginative conversation (dialogue), can evolve. This conscious forming of your own "conversational culture" allows the spirit of your activity to form.
From this follows well focused appropriate activity, next steps, solutions - very practical outcomes - transforming a good creative and imaginative idea into a business project - piece of artistic activity. All because time and care has been taken to meet the rights of others and yourself to appreciate the role and context from which you are speaking!
This area of clarity is so easy to achieve if you think about it before speaking - very difficult to put right if you don't. If you do achieve it you enhance significantly the likelihood of good work, products and art coming from it. And the way you speak when doing this will either enhance still further or detract even more from what is achievable.
So good luck with concentrating upon this aspect. Please tell each other and myself about your experiences.
The next Post in this Series will look at the importance of having a clear picture in our mind about what we intend to say.
Robin
An example is where you have been asked - or decided - to get something done which requires the support and help of others. When speaking, the person with the task, needs to describe the 'role' and/or task he or she has taken on - clearly, and ideally with enthusiasm!
Doing this the 'speaker' enables the listener to understand, appreciate and respond (more) positively to what they hear from you. Without this information there is a potential risk - 'barrier' - the listener will say "Why should I do that?" and not contribute towards what is needed. And then you have to spend time and energy unpicking the barrier rather than continuing your enthusiasm.
In an interesting way this is acknowledging the "Rights" both the listener has for knowing what is going on and you have to say what it is you are doing.
Not having unnecessary barriers or using time to retrospectively clarify and resolve your role and task means you create a safe, warm, open and exciting climate within which creative and imaginative thinking from creative and imaginative conversation (dialogue), can evolve. This conscious forming of your own "conversational culture" allows the spirit of your activity to form.
From this follows well focused appropriate activity, next steps, solutions - very practical outcomes - transforming a good creative and imaginative idea into a business project - piece of artistic activity. All because time and care has been taken to meet the rights of others and yourself to appreciate the role and context from which you are speaking!
This area of clarity is so easy to achieve if you think about it before speaking - very difficult to put right if you don't. If you do achieve it you enhance significantly the likelihood of good work, products and art coming from it. And the way you speak when doing this will either enhance still further or detract even more from what is achievable.
So good luck with concentrating upon this aspect. Please tell each other and myself about your experiences.
The next Post in this Series will look at the importance of having a clear picture in our mind about what we intend to say.
Robin
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