Communication is About BEING UNDERSTOOD

I received an interesting piece of advice from my boss the other day. He said that I needed to pay more attention to my audience, and that the fact that I say something eloquently doesn't matter a rat's ass if the people I'm saying things to walk away without understanding the message. It was a good reminder. 

Communication is about the sending AND the receiving of messages. It's about tailoring the delivery method such that the person you're speaking with hears, understands, and absorbs. The goal is for them to walk away with that idea EMBEDDED within themselves.

So there are some points to consider, and it's astounding how sometimes I miss some of these:

• Is this a conversation or an announcement? 
• What is the message? (or my initial position, if a conversation)
  
• Is it clear, simple, easy to convey?
• Who is my audience?
• What are they bringing with them? (Are they biased? Preoccupied?)
• What are their motives? What do they want out of this interaction?
• Does my message have easy "handles," so that they can carry it away with them?
• How will I be sure they take the message with them when they go?

I am thinking and working around this idea right now. I believe it's one of those central points to what else needs doing in life. An ability to successfully share/convey/upload knowledge is a fairly basic and critical requirement, don't you think?