The many times I have been confronted with the challenge of dealing with the response, “I don’t know” from colleagues, friends and family has inspired me to share my humble thoughts…

Do you sometimes get the sense that;

The communicator has decided that they will not bother to even think about your request to them?
2. The communicator believes you are being lazy and should attend to the matter yourself?
3. The communicator has just found other words to tell you that they will not and have no desire to assist you?
4. The communicator genuinely does not know and would not be able to assist even if they wanted to?

To those of us that have experience one or more of these feelings, it can be a daunting task to proceed beyond the communication because half the time we are asking, we have already decided that there is a chance that the person we have approached has a semblence of an answer, rather than complete ignorance! Much like when you go to a hotel you have never been to before. Asking someone who is in security where the reception area is reasonable because there is an expectation that security would know.

In organisations, it is important that actors are aware of some non verbal communication that would accompany a verbal one. Having the intelligence to navigate such messaging will have a positive impact on relations and operations in an organization.

Actors who possess awareness and appreciation of non verbal messaging will typically start their response with positive messaging such as;

1. “Oh that’s an interesting question. Let me check it out and get back to you”
2. “Off the top of my head… mmm…nothing comes immediately to mind but I will do some quick consulting and get back to you “
3. “ That is something even I would like to find out! Perhaps we could try to rope in X and see what he thinks. I think that it would be more helpful if we did that..”

Whereas, in all the cases in the preceding paragraph there is no solution being communicated, it is more engaging and empathetic. Remember always that it is your assistance that is being requested and the least you can do is positively communicate your inability or predicament. That is respect, empathy and above all, an ethical approach to relations in that regard.

I look forward to hearing viewpoints from colleagues so that we can better equip ourselves in the area of positivity for productivity and tranquility in our respective organizations.

Let’s share!