Do you feel you have one? Are your thoughts and ideas, your beliefs and ‘philosophy’ heard? Perhaps a definition of what I mean by ‘having a voice’ would help: a voice is the ability to express your thoughts, ideas, beliefs and know that they have been heard. In my world of definitions, ‘voice’ has both components of expression and being heard. Two questions: 1- Is this true for you? Is there at least one other person that gives value (not necessarily agreement) to what you say? and 2- Are you conscious of what it is that you are saying? Are you saying what you want to say?
Perhaps ‘hear’ is the most important part of voice. We may have the ability, the freedom to speak our thoughts but the critical consideration is that these thoughts are actually heard. I find that if I am having to find a variety of ways to express the same thought that I need to look at my ‘how’ and with what words I use to communicate. Sometimes the hearing isn’t the issue, it’s the clarity of message. The issue is really whether or not we believe our message is important – that it has a voice. But in order for this to occur we have to be equally concerned with whether it is actually heard.
Other times there seems to be so much ‘noise’ that communication is garbled. Noise can be more than actual volume, it can be definitions, word usage, semantics. Noise is more deadly than we can realize especially if we feel we have communicate clearly and the other seems to ‘understand’. So our issue at this point is to determine if what we said is what is heard. How? Ask questions or seek the other’s opinion – their response will give you the necessary information as to whether or not it was heard.
Voice and being heard really are intimately tied together. Having a voice becomes less important if what you say isn’t heard completely. The message should be the focus. You need to determine if what you want to say needs to be heard and then decide what is the most effective method to ‘get the message out’. Never place voice and heard ahead of message.
… but what do you think?
