Communication by Stacy M. Mamewoyi

Communication is the strongest quality or asset we have as humans, whether or not you stand with me on this point, it is. This is what makes us special unlike other creations or creatures I may say. Our diverse way of putting out a given message even to those who cannot relate with our traditional dialect is truly amazing. Just as humans talk and communicate, I do believe animals do same.

In an instance whereby an individual travel to a foreign land or meets foreigners, no matter the degree of language barrier, they are able to communicate their wants or needs one way or another. Information has diverse forms that is can be transmitted, and that is where the essence of communication comes to play. Communication is vital and the most valuable key to life but yet so underrated by almost everyone and the few that have identified its essence, studied it and practice it as a profession, are able to encode and decode information from and to us. Communication is a skill and just as all skills it needs to be developed or built on and if not done in a right way, may lead to misinformation or transmitting wrong messages as no one will be able to make sense out of the words or signs that is supposed to be communicated.

This is actually a skill that should not be taken lightly because this has led to the destruction and redemption of many. As humans, that is, social oriented as we are, have to understand each other to be able to even relate with each other in the first place. A lot have fallen victims of being misinterpreted as they make it seem as if they are okay with the comprehension of the information they intended communicating yet drown within themselves for not attaining the simple goal of communicating a simple information.

A lot of which may not be their faults but as the result of others who lack the skill to comprehend the message, read between the lines to note that something might be wrong with the carrier of the message in responds to the information that is communicated thereby providing the right help as soon as possible if needed. In other situations, too, it is the fault of the carrier of the information as they lack the right ways and skills to express themselves in their distress and discomfort and end up being misunderstood and not attended to. Many will not see this to be a big deal but over 75% of suicide cases is due to poor communication and inter relations between persons, making them feel alone, not good enough, being a waste of existence and the like. This is a very uncomfortable position to be and in as much as you will not like to be in that condition you also have the responsibility to help those who find themselves to be victims. It is not also as easy to just talk things out with such victims as this may be more complex than it may seem, so measures have to be taken to do so and this is where communication as a skill comes in.

Probably, frequent check ups on the person, engaging the person into simple conversations, going out on strolls or walks or even visiting recreational centers with the person, trying to build a safe and open relationship with the person, making the person feel appreciated and recognized, building a bond of trust and mutual understanding can be life-saving. As soon as this environment has been created, the person in question will feel more at ease to share the problems he or she faces and seeks ways and advices on how to solve their problems as this phenomenon do occur all the time.

At that point, all the person needs are: a listener, a consoler, someone who can feel the person’s pain and to talk the person through that hard time and trust me, with this done, in no time the person will be ready to appreciate the pleasures of life and no more live in their own shadow and fear. Growing up, we have all been nurtured to develop ourselves in all areas and aspects of life and to be the best of ourselves to contribute our quota to society but many of us got that wrong as we think we are doing just that as being a lawyer or doctor or banker by contributing to the community we find ourselves in by the services we render but it does not end there. There is more to contribution of one’s quota to society than what is appreciated by most of us. We must all come to the lay man’s level to understand the struggles of their lives and help by one way or another to make the world a better place by just that one person you save. I believe if every individual takes it upon himself to influence about fifteen people in their sphere of contact by taking keen interest in enhancing healthy and skillful forms of communication, a lot of social related problems will be resolved.

And before any of this can be made possible, you must be in the position to help, that is, having the basic skills in communication and from there must as well use other personal skills to carry out your mission. Let’s take some relatable scenarios in our very own African setting. It may be known that the best way to correct a child is by inflicting physical pain or torture as we all use the popular saying ‘SPARE THE ROD AND SPOIL THE CHILD’, first of all, this saying is without a doubt the best to practice as a parent. However, analyzing the effects and interpretation parents have on this saying is very daunting. A lot of traditional parents results to corporal punishments for offences that do not necessarily amount to that, hence abusing the adage. You may correct the child, but pass a notion of hate, regret or dislike to this child. This may grow to be a scar within this young one till adulthood but will never be known as all kids do is to observe but never speak.

Growing up, this young one will live believing he might be a mistake or worse because he will not understand why the parent cannot simply relay an instruction to them by simply saying ‘can you pick that object beside you for me?’ but rather give a knock on the child’s head and ask the child to pass on the object that the parent is in apparent need of. Little by little this child grows and starts keeping a lot to himself and fears communicating the little needs, thoughts and wants to their parent since they seek to avoid the rebukes, yelling and to extremes beatings they receive when they are misunderstood.

Communication therefore cuts across every sector of our lives and is the most vital tool needed for our human existence, inter-personal relations, political, social and international relations and would save this planet a whole lot of menace if it was granted the necessary attention it requires in our daily lives.