History tells us of a time when men wanted to build a tower that reached to the heavens. Seeing their arrogance, God decided to confuse their language. From that point forth, the construction of the Tower of Babel ceased. The spoken and written word has, for centuries, been the cornerstone of human civilization. As the story illustrates, virtually no human endeavor has ever been possible without the use of language in communication. Evidence for this is the projected rise in demand for language translators by as much as 22% from 2008-2013, mirroring the increasing interconnectedness of the world we live in.
As much as language greatly affects communication, there exists other factors that inadvertently influence the effectiveness of communication. Non-verbal cues such as tone, pitch, body language, hand gestures, active listening and even silence all aid in fine tuning the process of communication. If what I believe is true, then it is no wonder that some of the most hurtful lies are told through silence; and the most meaningful of friendships are forged through attention and presence, rather than advice and incessant talking.
The ability to master a good combination of language and non-verbal communication is key to convey messages precisely and efficiently. This requires the application of technical as well as soft skills involved in crafting a transmittance and leads me to believe that it is as much a science as it is an art. A world without such skills would be chaotic due to the misinterpretation of countless messages. The case of the imperial-metric mix-up that led to the loss of the Challenger space shuttle reinforces the importance of effective communications. It is perhaps due to incidences such as this over the ages that fuel our drive toward more effective communication.
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