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Richmond, BC - (August 3, 2009) – The ability to communicate masterfully is like the “Midas Touch”. It allows you to turn virtually any opportunity into a hit. Through skillful communication, success becomes possible in every area of your life - career, relationships, and finances. Effective communication is essential to all of these and more.

As teachers and parents, we need to communicate with our children. We can always improve or be reminded to be good communicators. If we can teach our children to do the same, they will have much more success in all of their endeavors.

To teach our children in school to be better communicators’ four objectives should be formulated to enable students to:

1. Explain the meaning of the term communication;
2. Understand some of the reasons why people communicate;
3. Recognize the five basic elements of the communication process;
4. Identify some factors which affect the communication process.

Results suggest that communication instruction can be successful at the elementary level and that students have an interest in the subject matter.

What makes someone a great communicator? Effective communication is always a two-way street.

“Communication” in the dictionary derives from the Latin word communicare, “to impart, share,” literally “to make common.” So real communication isn’t simply a transmission of ideas; it’s an exchange. Effective communication is a sharing of information, a coming together of two unique points-of-view, the communicator’s and the person being communicated with. Sometimes those points-of-view are in sync, sometimes they are in conflict; but they are always distinct. No one’s perspective, experience, interpretation, concerns, goals, mood, etc. is identical to yours. Understanding this fact is crucial to making powerful connections.

Being an effective listener is probably the most important quality of a great communicator. President Bill Clinton makes every person he speaks with feel like they’re the only person in the room. Barak Obama skills as communicator won his place in history as the first black American President. Angelina Jolie is direct and honest and inspires those around her. The Reverend Billy Graham is able to touch the emotions of thousands of people at the same time, who feel that he’s speaking personally with them. Winston Churchill tapped into the fears and dreams of an entire nation, and inspired them to greatness. Think about the great communicators you’ve met in your own life, and how they somehow seemed to speak a language you really understood.

Speaking the language of others. That’s what real communication is all about.

Here are a few things you can do to make yourself a more effective communicator.

1. Train yourself to really listen. Focus on them, what they’re saying and how they’re behaving. Block everything else out - your thoughts, distractions around you. Make a point of not speaking until the other person has expressed a complete thought. Fight the urge to interrupt or finish their sentences. Try to be genuinely interested in every word they say.
2. Acknowledge others’ words and feelings. When it is your turn to talk, begin by confirming for the other person that you really heard them. You might want to comment on what they’ve just told you. You might ask a question. Mirroring is another good technique for letting someone know you heard them. Just repeat back to the other person what they just said, and ask them for confirmation that you understood. When you let people know you’re really listening to them, they will be more interested to share your thoughts.
3. Listen with your eyes. One of the best ways of letting someone know you’re listening is to maintain strong, consistent eye contact. This is very important when you’re speaking, but even more so when you’re the listener. Don’t look down. Don’t look around the room. Don’t look at other people. Look into the eyes of the person speaking to you, and they’ll know you’re interested in what they’re saying.
4. Relate your thoughts to theirs. To be most effective, try to build your thoughts on what you’ve just heard. “I’m glad you brought that up, because I’ve been thinking about something very similar.” Even if you’re point-of-view is opposite to theirs, you will make it more meaningful to your listener by pointing that fact out. “I certainly hear what you’re saying, and I understand why you think that way. But I have a different perspective on the situation. Let me explain.” By connecting your point to theirs, you make it relevant to them.

Masterful communication is a conscious act. It requires focus, attention, forethought and an appreciation of the person with whom you want to make a connection with.

Over the years a basic model of communications has evolved that represents the various elements of the communications process. The elements of the model include:

• Input . Source/Encoding The sender has an intention to communicate with another person. This intention makes up the content of the message.
• Sender . Message The sender encodes the message, e.g. the idea of "piece of furniture to sit on”. Thus he gives expression to the content.
• Channel . The message is sent via a channel, which can be made of a variety of materials. In acoustic communication it consists of air, in written communication of paper or other writing materials.
• Noise . The channel is subjected to various sources of noise. One example is telephone communication, where numerous secondary sounds are audible. Even a solid channel such as paper can be crushed or stained.
• Receiver . The receiver decodes the incoming message, or expression. He "translates" it and thus receives the Output. This is the content decoded by the receiver. Feedback provides the sender with a way of monitoring how the message is being decoded and received by the target audience.

Try it out with your students and children. Maybe you’ll find a whole new way to run your home and classroom!

About Griddly Games:
Griddly Games are games that get you going. The company creates award-winning party and board games that deliver innovative, engaging fun that brings people together. Founded in 2007 by two moms from Vancouver, British Columbia, who took it upon themselves to fill the void for products that deliver wholesome family fun that all ages could enjoy at once, Griddly Games creates award-winning party and board games that inspire laughter and fun, while promoting an active and healthy lifestyle. As former educators, who combine for over 30 years of professional work with children, the co-founders of Griddly Games keep a strict company philosophy to offer games that encourage social interaction, learning, strategy and challenges that anyone (the entire grid of people) can enjoy. To discover more about Griddly Games, visit www.griddlygames.com