COMMUNICATION AND THE LANGUAGE.
Geoffrey Ndege, Nairobi, Kenya.
Communication is part of living. I sum up my words on this simple but rather very conclusive statement. Communication is the process of transmitting information, data or instructions and as such makes a very critical component of one’s whole lifetime. We speak, sing, recite, write, instruct and pass information; we simply communicate. As I have grown up, the realization that how you present information to your audience is more important than the information has made me view any communication as not merely an art but as a science. In fact the aspect of precisely but convincingly passing on information forms the empirical components of communication.
Taking any piece of writing and perusing through it, the reader is interested in first perceiving the ability of the writer to express themselves fully in a simple but beautifully woven language. In this case language becomes a tool of power and its choice therefore becomes worth of consideration. The very first instance I encounter a person and they tell me of their hatred for writing; I mean even a simple half page description of their experience from an activity, gives me an impression of hatred for listening, reading and writing. The basic components that invoke maturity of communication must involve these senses: listening, speaking, writing and reading. Once completeness of these senses is achieved, then communication can take place with minimum difficulty. Smart People are often good communicators and mostly diversified in scope of interactions. Great writers of any sort, I, with a very high degree of certainty, believe employ their minds first before they employ their pen.
Engaging the mind in the first Instance, means planning on how to put across their ideas first. Then with conviction, they put those ideas into writing trusting they will achieve their goal. They will communicate. When one understands what they want to communicate, then they plan and lastly communicate accordingly, the life in communication is maintained. Often do I see people struggling to put across ideas simply because they have a problem with the wits of proper communication. A child for instance, should be taught in a first language they understand best for the sake of developing their mind on the logistics of language and its use in information presentation. This enables the child in later stages to critically understand how to put ideas and words in order before presenting them. Once proper language is attained albeit poor planning of words, some communication can take place and with repeated practice and self determination, they can become better speakers and writers.
Good communication skills should been encouraged right from early childhood and into every stage of life. This becomes the only way to rekindle the relish of reading and writing good pieces. With good communication skills, problems of misunderstanding and misinterpretation of information could be done away with. Time taken to re-process information due to poor instructions could be saved for economic gain. It could also bring us the 21st civilization we need to wake up from a lot of lies and use inappropriate language to suppress truths.
Communication is with us. It is a powerful tool we can use to transform society and develop a channel we can use to liberate ourselves and others. It’s a tool to give literature its real value in the African setting. This can be achieved if only we can strive and work towards becoming better masters and subjects of information and data transmission.
Email: ndegegeoffrey@gmail.com, Student at The Technical University of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya.
Geoffrey Ndege +254714505312
