by Eric Rank
Throughout the course of a normal day at work, I interact with a lot of different people. An increasing part of my job lately involves the task of communicating with others. I communicate with my team to build plans and organize the goals we have. I communicate with the clients to keep them informed of the progress we’re making on our projects. I communicate with my supervisors to keep them up to date on the current issues my team and I face. It all means that I do a lot of talking throughout the week. While it seems like a simple thing to provide information to the right people at the right time in the right amount, doing it well can be very challenging.
Most of the time, I have enough of a solid foundation to present things in an adequate manner. However, I recently noticed a peculiar habit I’ve developed. On occasions when I don’t know much about a topic, but I am put on the spot to communicate an idea or present some other analysis anyway, I tend to say more than I would if I had understood the topic inside-out. The Bible teaches that a fool is known for his many words. To my chagrin, I’ve come to learn this first hand! However, being aware of this tendency, I’m learning to recognize when I’m heading into uncharted territory, and admit to myself that I have more to learn. Indeed, the first step in achieving growth is submitting to the need for it.
