“If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.”

What is a communication gap?  Well, the definition is actually this:  “A failure to convey and/or understand the information, intent, or meaning of another, especially between individuals of different perception.” Yep, that makes sense.  And, it makes sense that in each and every conversation or communication we have there could be that gap.  Sometimes small, sometimes the size of the Grand Canyon.  A survey just came out that shows a very large gap occurring right now in the workplace.  The results showed that “66% of communicators think they know what updates employees need. Only 31% of employees agree.”  That’s the Grand Canyon there!  Imagine that we communicate to our teams thinking that we are giving them what they need and only hit the mark with less than a third?  That may well be what is happening.

How many times have we thought we are conveying a message of love and grace, only to find that it wasn’t taken that way by the receiving person or party?  I know it has happened to me more than I would like to admit.  Even once is too many but to miss the mark by more than a third could be the difference between making a positive or negative impression or influence on others.  What if we started our communications with the precursor of “I want them to be sure they see, hear and feel that no matter what, they are loved.”  If we did that, how would we communicate differently today?  Might love be the bridge to close the communication gap?

Reference: 1 Corinthians 13:1 (New Living Translation)