Below are a few (other) words (in alphabetical order) that I thought might be added (as both useful and desirable) to the list (of ingredients) when talking to others:

A – Accurate, Appropriate, Active, Articulate, Appreciative, Accountable
B – Brief, Believable, Blameless
C – Clear, Concise, Candid, Considerate, Conscious, Constructive, Cordial
D – Direct, Deliberate, Detailed, Deferential
E – Effective, Expressive, Enlightening, Empowering, Enthusiastic, Enough
F – Frank, Fitting, Factual, Friendly, Free-Flowing, Fearless, Fruitful, Fulfilling
G – Grounded, Goal-oriented, Gentle, Gracious, Giving
H – Honest, Helpful, Heart-felt
I – Inclusive, Inviting, Intriguing, Interesting, Important, Integrity-based
J – Justified
K – Kind
L – Listener-friendly, Life-affirming, Liberating, Lawful, Liked
M – Meaningful, Manageable, Matter-of-fact,
N – Needed, Necessary, Natural, Not negative
O – Open, On-going, Objective
P – Present, Purposeful, Personal, Provocative, Positive, Powerful
Q – Quotable, Question-answering, Qualified
R – Relevant, Respectful, Responsible, Result(s)-oriented, Reciprocal
S – Safe, Sincere, Sensitive, Supportive
T – Timely, Thoughtful, True, Thorough, Two-Way
U – Understandable, Useful, Up-to-Date, Unconditional, Unapologetic
V – Voluntary, Verifiable
W – Welcome

XYZ? Hmmm… How ’bout:

X – Xenophilic (love, rather than fear, of strangers)
Y – Yes-getting, Yielding
Z – Zippy, Zestful, Zinger-free

Those are my ideas. What are yours?

Please let me know what YOU think – regarding communication (including any words to consider adding or deleting). What works (best) for YOU?

There are many forms and levels of communication. My ABC list is merely an attempt to add a few more “ingredients” to consider for an existing “recipe” (that others may already know and use) – without going into how or when to use them – in what quantities, sequence(s), combination(s), or with whom.

The best cooks seldom use recipes – and neither do the best communicators.

Who we (desire to) communicate (effectively) with in personal relationships, business marketing, teaching, and every other area of life tends to determine what, when, how, and even why we communicate – more than any particular recipe or (list of) ingredients.

Also very important is to keep in mind a desired “outcome”.

Communication has a purpose. It helps a LOT to clarify (even if only to ourselves) what it is before beginning (or ending) – and to know how to check for acknowledgment, understanding, compliance, or whatever other response is desired.

Communication is not just sent or transmitted, it must be also received. While using some, or even all, of the ingredients on my ABC list cannot guarantee that what is communicated will be received as intended, they are certainly worth keeping in mind – and including as part of any communication recipe.

That’s my perspective. What’s yours?

Please share your thoughts and insights. Your comments and contribution to more effective communication (or anything else I post) are welcome and appreciated.

Please also check out my post about A New Alphabet – for the rest of us.

Oren Pardes

Oren Pardes has written 56 post in this blog.

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