The Power of Communication | Weekbook #22

What skill separates humanity from every other species to exist on our planet? Communication. A tool that has been used to tell stories, build connections and communities, and manipulate the masses. In fact, our communication has become so advanced that we've developed an estimated 7,117 versions of it, yet few use it effectively, why?

Before exploring the underutilization of our most powerful skill, it is important to understand where its origins lie. In Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Yuval Noah Harari explores the origins of humanity. In this exploration of our history, he discusses how language came to be. In the early days of society, when tribes were formed of fewer than one hundred people, we were a nomadic species. Consequently, we had to hunt and forage for all of our food, never relying on a single source. Furthermore, since we weren't the apex predator, being on the move was essential. The combination of these meant that basic communication left us vulnerable, we had to evolve, and so we did.

Our distant ancestors developed the ability to tell stories. They used descriptive language to be specific about where they'd found food or spotted a predator. Over time, this created efficiencies, allowing them to instead focus their efforts elsewhere, such as building a sustainable society, which eventually led to the retirement of our nomadic ways and the adoption of farming and trading.

It's thanks to communication that we were able to become the dominant species on Earth.

Yet in modern times, most don't use this tool effectively. Is that due to a lack of understanding or non-necessity? I would argue the former.

In an age of 140-character tweets and predictive text, our communication has been refined within an inch of its existence. Context no longer matters vital information is removed to save characters and meaningful discussions have been revoked in favour of the heated debate. Most crucially, it is often forgotten that communication is a combination of speaking and listening.

However, this need not be the case. Effective communication has underpinned humanity's greatest ideas, insights, and innovations, and will be the foundation of all of those to come. When harnessed correctly it can be used to unite people behind a common cause, create art or inspire the next generation.

Learn to leverage the power of communication.

Reading Notes

A collection of the best insights I’ve read this week.

• Research proves your brain needs breaks: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/brain-research

• The Time Billionaire Concept: https://twitter.com/SahilBloom/status/1650194320161484802

• Processed Foods and Health: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/processed-foods/

Try this Podcast

Ending Quote

“Good communication is the bridge between confusion and clarity.” - Nat Turner.

Thank you for reading Here to Where. If you enjoyed this post, please share it. It helps more than you know.

Thumbnail credit: Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash.