Episode 34 - Walking Your Talk with Fazeena Haniff
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
Despite the fact that one of the most important things we as humans do is communicate with other humans, it’s still one of the things that we are most challenged by. If the number of books that have been written on the subject, courses taught in schools, or courses available online is any indication, we are simply not as good at communicating with each other as we like to think we are.
There are so many barriers built into our ability to communicate effectively: we only see the situation from our perspective since we are in our own heads all the time; we have different stories, emotions and attachments than the people with whom we are communicating; we come from different backgrounds and grew up learning to relate to people in different ways; we have different things we want from the conversation (almost always unspoken) - and that's not even scratching the surface. Sometimes it feels like the odds are stacked against us.
And yet, we all know that when you have a really great conversation, when you feel understood, heard and like you genuinely connected with another person, there’s simply nothing like it. We are all searching for more of those moments in our lives. Those truly authentic moments of connection with another person can change the trajectory of your day, and sometimes even, your life.
As the Conscious Communicator Fazeena Haniff notes, “You can tell when someone is doing something because it’s “the thing to do” vs because it’s who they are.” Which, is exactly why we get so energized by the conversations we know are based in authenticity first.
Fazeena is my guest on the podcast this week and one of the many things we speak about is the fact that we absolutely cannot underestimate the importance and value of authenticity when it comes to communication and business. People are much smarter than we give them credit for and easily sniff out things that feel untrue, fake, disingenuous, or otherwise.
This is just one of the many reasons leaders need to get comfortable with transparency and vulnerability - so they can show up wholly and completely, the people they’re leading will believe what they are saying and who they claim to be, and be all-in with them.
The reality is that when it comes to communication, there is as much (if not more) inner work that has to be done, as actual work on the communication that is happening. This episode scratches the surface of what some of that work looks like, but there is much more you can delve into and practice. If this is a topic that interests you, feel free to reach out and we can connect you with some additional resources.
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To learn more about Fazeena Haniff you can find her online at https://www.theconsciouscommunicator.ca/.
She is also on LinkedIn (https://ca.linkedin.com/in/fazeenahaniff), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/CommsCoach/), and Instagram (@TheConsciousCommunicator).