Recently, I finished watching ‘Emily in Paris’ and something caught my attention. It’s how miscommunications due to language and cultural barriers make it extremely challenging for people to live freely. A little context for those who haven’t watched the show: Emily, the protagonist in the series, is from Chicago and moves to Paris for work. Due to her trouble in learning the language and understanding the cultural differences, she occasionally finds herself in ‘Comedy of Errors’ kind of situations where a simple communication in advance would’ve helped her avoid the whole mess.
Expanding my thoughts
This got me thinking about how we are prone to compromise many of our relationships irrespective of language, culture, perspectives, etc.
This reminds of another dialogue from the movie ‘Dil Dhadkhne Do’ – “Insaan ke paas toh zubaan hai, phir bhi kitni baatein reh jaati hain adhuri. Shayad isiliye mujhe insaanon se zyaada kutte samajh mein aate hain. Kam se kam woh apni feelings toh chhupaate nahin.” (“Humans have a means to communicate, yet so many things remain unsaid. Maybe that’s why I understand dogs more than humans. At least they don’t hide their feelings.”)
Nowadays, misunderstandings have become a common occurrence and the main cause is failing to communicate. Hence, in today’s blog, I decided to pick on this topic and ‘communicate’ my feelings. If you want to share anything or add some points here, feel free to do so in the comments section.
Early Exposures to Lack of Communication
Our parents/grandparents have mastered the art of ‘Brushing things under the carpet”. The relationship between our parents exposes us to the initial instances of how a relationship works. Sadly, we were nurtured to refrain from sharing our thoughts by our parents. Well, it wasn’t their mistake, it’s just how their parents taught them. Yet, there are a few of them who have understood the intricate concept of communication and have changed their ways of working towards their relationship, now that’s beautiful!
Communication in Our Generation
One of the top three reasons why there is an appalling increase in Divorce rates around the world is the lack of effective communication. While our parents never shared their feelings, our generation is out there either not expressing emotions, or expressing in a rather aggressive way. This leads to misunderstandings as we might think that our partner is either overreacting or being insensitive. This brings me to a pressing question:
Is Effective Communication Difficult?
Take this situation – how many of you have thought while watching a series or a movie that this whole thing could’ve been avoided if he/she had just communicated their feelings? In most cases of misunderstandings, the missing factor is effective communication.
In my opinion, effective communication is tricky as it involves a conflict between one’s brain and heart. In situations where you wish to communicate, your overflowing thoughts cloud your better judgement preventing you from expressing your feelings in a rational way. Often, when we wish to communicate our feelings, a small interruption in our way might make us rethink the whole situation. Sometimes, the other person might not be in the listening mood causing us to let go of sharing our feelings.
The fact is that if you have an opinion about something or someone, go ahead and share how you feel. You can be open about your feelings without sounding rude or insensitive. Your rational talk will make the other person communicate their perspective or avoid the whole conversation. Either way, you’ll know for sure if that person was really worth your time and energy in the first place.
Conclusion
Relationships are hard to form once we pass a certain age and maintaining it is even hard. When we know that there is a real shot to this through effective communication, I think the world needs to take it seriously and nurture the art of expressing. There’s a reason why the saying ‘Communication is the Key’ makes sense. Humans are social creatures and to ease our existence on Earth, we need the assistance of relationships. I would say, let’s communicate our way into making our life on Earth, beautiful. What do you think? Please do share your thoughts!
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