Children are great teachers! When it comes to communication, they really shine! It is so interesting to note that when one searches for communication and children most of the results point to how to help children communicate or how to communicate to children. Perhaps it would be most ideal if we took some lessons from them!
Growing up, I remember watching Art Linkletter’s House Party or House Party in the 50s and 60s. One of the most popular segments was “Kids Say the Darndest Things” in which Linkletter interviewed schoolchildren between the ages of five and ten. If you are too young to remember this program or if you want some fond memories, click on this link and enjoy!
I know you loved that. In fact, you might want to hear more from the children. That, in itself, is an testimony to the communication skills of children!
Watching the children in this segment teaches me the following lessons about communication. Rather than write a long post, I am going to leave some unanswered questions so you can respond and share your wisdom.
Be innocent! This is easier said than done (perhaps that is another lesson). Adults lose that childlike innocence, which is a natural part of growing up. We become self-centered, fearful of criticism, of being misinterpreted or misunderstood…. In some ways, perhaps, we should return to a childlike innocence in our speech.
How can teachers preserve or regain their innocence in communication?
Be truthful! As teachers we try so hard to avoid offense. So, we color the truth just enough. I remember a situation in which I was a guest speaker. A musical group, singing before my speech, were finishing their rehearsal when I arrived. Honestly, they were terrible! As fate would have it, one of them walked up to me to ask if I enjoyed their music. I responded, “Well, I can honestly say that I have never heard that arrangement sung like you just sang.” It was true (deceitfully).
How can adults be truthful while being tactful?
Be simple! C. S. Lewis gave the following advice to children about writing (works for communication in general, too):
- Always try to use the language so as to make quite clear what you mean and make sure your sentence couldn’t mean anything else.
- Always prefer the clean direct word to the long, vague one. Don’t implement promises, but keep them.
- Never use abstract nouns when concrete ones will do. If you mean “More people died” don’t say “Mortality rose.”
- In writing, don’t use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the things you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us the thing is “terrible,” describe it so that we’ll be terrified. Don’t say it was “delightful”; make us say “delightful” when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers “Please, will you do my job for me.”
- Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say “infinitely” when you mean “very”; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.
Why is it so challenging to write simply?
Smile! Very few of us can compete with a child’s smile. What a communication strength! With that said, who does not want to listen to a winsome communicator? May smiles be forever on our faces, in our eyes and through our words!
Your turn! I’ve shared four observations and three questions. As you watched the program, what did you observe? Feel free to use the comment section to respond as you desire.
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