Imagine a big King Kong-like thing walks in to save a city. He probably knocks over some buildings, kills some people, and devastates the enemy. Sometimes he tries to communicate with people.
Because he’s big and not ‘from round here,’ he communicates slowly and loudly – it’s how he knows to communicate. He communicates slow and loud with his big-animal family and big-animal friends.
The people of the city don’t understand him. They can hear him but his words fall on deaf ears. The city people keep communicating to each other, the way they always have. They communicate about the big animal but he doesn’t understand them. The big animal doesn’t really listen because he’s listening for big animal talk and has trouble hearing the city people.
The big animal’s voice is unmistakable to the city people; even obstructive to their lives but they haven’t been able to understand what he’s communicating.
The animal tries to soften his voice. He tries to get people to communicate on his behalf. He tries hard to listen but it’s difficult to listen while he’s talking. But still, the people really only believe each other.
Eventually, instead of trying so hard to break through and make the people understand, the big animal stops and listens to the people. Instead of proactively trying to convey his big message, he just answers their questions instead. The people like this.
In the new way of doing business, the big animal doesn’t always get to speak, his message isn’t always conveyed at the right time and place but, the people listen to him more than ever before.
The big animal has learned. Sometimes to get your audience to listen, you need to stop talking.
Now go and do likewise.
Photo by Staff Sgt. Izabella Sullivan
