There was once a king who dreamt that all his teeth fell off.
He was perturbed by this dream, and the next day, he called his senior advisor and related the dream to him, asking him to provide an interpretation.
The advisor, who was learned in the science of dream interpretation, knew instantly what the dream meant, and it was not good.
The dream meant that the King would witness the deaths of his entire family.
He related this to the king, who was so enraged, that he had the advisor beheaded. He called the second, and third advisors, all of whom gave him the same interpretation, and all of whom met with the same fate.
Finally, the king summoned his most junior advisor and posed the same question to him. This advisor was aware of what had happened to the others, and he knew they were right. He was dreading for his life. He knew he needed a different approach.
“Dearest King,” he said, “I do not know what the others have told you, but your dream is a very good dream.”
The King was surprised, and asked him to continue.
And so the advisor related his interpretation to the King. He said that the dream meant that the king would be blesses with a long life; so long, in fact, that he would outlive everyone in the court.
The king was happy and satisfied with this interpretation. He rewarded the advisor and gave him a promotion.
When you really think about it, what did the last advisor say, that was different from what the others had said?
Nothing. He said the exact same thing that the others said. Whether the king outlives his family or his family dies before him, it’s the same thing.
But this guy was a master of communication and probably a master of marketing too. So he told the king the same news in a way that wasn’t just palatable to the king, but in a way that made him happy.
Now one of our biggest problems these days is that we are terrified of technology, but we don’t realize that most of our problems come from our own species, human beings.
And the root cause of the majority of these problems, is that there is usually a break down in communication. When people fail to communicate with each other, you have everything from relationship problems, to workplace conflict to project failures to outright deadly wars between countries.
If there is proper communication, and in scenarios where people opted to sit down and communicate, there is harmony.
I cannot emphasise the importance of communication skills enough. We have to do it all the time, in every sphere of life.
Are you selling something? Pitching an idea? Trying to get your kids to do their homework? Starting a revolution? Trying to make amends after forgetting your spouse’s birthday?
There are countless reasons why we would want to communicate with others, but ultimately it is your ability to communicate effectively that will determine if you will be successful or not.
Seth Godin summed up the importance of effective communication when he said: “Ideas that spread, win.’
Ideas start in the deep recesses of our minds. Let’s say one day you suddenly have a good idea. No, a great idea – a revolutionary, potentially worldchanging idea. It lives inside your head, bouncing around, being totally useless.
To become useful, it needs to get out of your head and into the world. That is the only way the world will see and appreciate it, and perhaps action it.
Until then, it is like a priceless pearl trapped inside an oyster in the depths of the ocean.
Your idea will benefit no one, and possibly die a quiet death. What a loss to the world!
The way to get that idea out of your head, is to communicate it to others, effectively and in any way that suits you, be it verbally, in writing or visually using graphics, art or photography.
Or maybe you prefer a song, a poem or a performance of some sort.
We are living in an age where communication has never been easier, and there is never an excuse for not communicating well.
Are you comfortable using video communication? Then use it. Not so comfortable? Use audio. Not comfortable with that? Write an article, a blog or a micro-blog. Not comfortable with that? Use graphical communication. Use infographics. Use photos. Create a painting.
Just learn to communicate effectively. Ideas that spread, win.