Worth Reading – Communication Isn’t Part of Your Job. It’s THE Job.

Rinaldo seems to think that we’re paying the price for not teaching people how to communicate.

Rinaldo also sells courses teaching people to communicate, but I’m willing to link to his post despite that because I agree with this:

Look at what’s happening in organizations these days. The wrong decisions get made because the person with the best argument lost to the person with the loudest voice. Strategic initiatives die because someone couldn’t articulate the value. Teams move in the wrong direction because the expert couldn’t make themselves understood.

And on a personal level? Brilliant people stay stuck. Not because they’re not capable, but because they can’t make their capabilities visible.

https://presenternotes.substack.com/p/communication-isnt-part-of-your-job

I’ve also seen this. I’ve seen brilliant people asked to train others on technology they know inside and out fail miserably because they have not developed the skill of explaining what they know in a way that allows others to learn. I’ve also argued that this is a skill that can be learned. It’s also a skill that should not be ignored.

The bottom line is that we now live in a society, not just in the workplace, where the most intelligent people may not be able to explain their ideas well enough to influence others, while people with less intelligent ideas but rhetorical skills can influence others easily.

How many smart ideas have been left behind, and how many brilliant people have learned to keep quiet instead of sharing those ideas because they lacked the know-how of communicating those ideas in a way people could understand?

If you’ve felt this way, I encourage you to consider that communication is a skill you can learn. Writing, speaking, presenting, training, etc., are all variations of the basic skill of communication. If you can learn how to articulate your ideas, you will likely find more success in your career. If you’re willing to teach your employees this skill, you’ll get more involvement and better ideas, rather than just hearing from the loudest voices on your team. It’s worth the effort.

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