Traffic Light Communication

Traffic LightsTraffic Lights. The strangest things remind me of communication patterns.

How often have we approached a traffic light – we need to turn across traffic – and an oncoming vehicle is headed our way?  We can tell that they are putting the pedal to the metal in order to make the traffic light and we do not dare pull in front of their destination.

What if the oncoming vehicle just slowed down and took a little more time? Would it make them any later to their final destination? Probably not.

Communication is like moving through a traffic light.  If we rush through our communication, our message could be lost.  We don’t give our audience time to process it and we could appear to be less confident.  If we pause at the traffic light, slow down, stop with pauses, and provide time for our audience to hear our message, we could find that we accomplish more with our communication connection.

So, next time you see a traffic light, try the pause!

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