I am fascinated with the art and power of communication. I love watching gifted communicators teach and preach, teach on business concepts, and articulate things in books, podcasts, articles and more. As a student, I’ve grown and developed as a result of varying the amount of thinkers that I listen to because it allows me to diversify my thought base so I’m not just the product of one thinker, one mentor, one leader, or one person out there but a collection of many thinkers that has been influenced by many bright thought leaders. This is partly why I find diversity of people in the work force to be quite effective, when done right, of course!
The power of commanding communication is significant... it is the difference between you moving the room and others wanting to get out of the room because they need to pace and go for a walk because your talk may be boring!
Anyways, I’ve watched various world class communicators for years, observing their mannerisms, their repetitions, studying how they pause between various sentences, how they exhibit energy, their cadence and rhythm, use of literary devices, storytelling, and what they do to drive home a point to you both on YouTube, on Instagram Reels, and podcasts. From a mentorship perspective, they didn't have to sit with me to teach me how to communicate things, whatsoever. As a fellow communicator and lover of speaking and teaching various things, I’ve learned to develop by observation and imitation (practice). To me, communication is totally an art form with the idea of looking at words and painting with them and painting a beautiful mosaic of words in a book, an article, a speech or whatever, for certain messages and other times choosing a different form of communication to drive home points that is less eloquent but more succinct or ‘powerful.’ To me, it means picking up my paint brush, getting the paints on a little flat folder to then go to work on what it is I am trying to illustrate or paint to you, stroke by stroke, detail by detail, with the command of various painting methodologies to be employed at my disposal to create a masterpiece all because I've been observing and continue to observe and grow in this. To those who study various communicators, the more you see others do, the more you know and can implement yourself in accordance to your own style and perspectives as you see fit.
So, over my own communication growth journey and growth as a speaker I’ve learned there to be various dimensions of communication that are effective to rendering greater impact on people. At the core of communication, is the command of the language you are speaking. No stage presence = you have no command over the room. Stage presence = you have the command and therefore your communication has more authority and weight.
Before delving into the Four Dimensions herein below, think about breaking the third and fourth wall during movies or TV shows where the main character or characters will address the context or self awareness of everything as to if they just developed conscience and wake up from a slumber via the third wall versus the fourth wall where the characters will speak to and acknowledge the audience. Anyways, the types of communication I talk about here are similar but, yet, very different broken out here.
First Dimension: First dimension communication is saying it as is. This is the Y = Mx+B but there is no slope, and/or it is undefined because there is no edge to the difference in communication to what exists out there. This is how common conversations go, typically. Think podcasts with two-four people on there that are talking about various things. Nonetheless, don't discredit this because it is still very effective and incredibly impactful.
Second Dimension: Second dimension communication is saying what you’re trying to say with a metaphorical picture, tangible graph, an idea, thought concept, or a tangible chart or something to detail something. This is typically done through powerpoint or word explanation by a speaker in a classroom, conference, or in conversations. John Maxwell, a world renowned speaker, I'd argue speaks in the second dimension often and he is an incredible speaker.
-- Very simple, nonetheless illustrates key trends and patterns within the data here. Still very effective --
Third Dimension: Third dimension communication is saying what you’re trying to say with a metaphorical picture, tangible graph, an idea, thought concept, a demonstration, or let’s say a tangible chart along with emotion and significant rhythm, cadence and utilizing things or concepts that connect to the audience with the heart. Here you have a developed voice and unique way of communicating that says you may have studied up on communicators or invested in your own ability, but that you’ve learned to develop your own voice and style. You’ve gone from imitation to application in the development of your own style with what has proven effective amongst various communicators.
--More color, another dimension, spatial recognition, depth = more impactful--
Fourth Dimension: Fourth dimension is everything in the third dimension of communication but more as it includes connecting with the audience in more interpersonal ways. It is using spacing, it is using annunciation, onomatopoeias, allegory, metaphor in a unique way that demonstrates via language what you are communicating while connecting emotionally and in some ways, physically via demonstration to the audience. Moreover, it is taking the audience there with you, in your issues, seeing what you’re seeing, and getting ‘in the zone’ (detailed further below), and piggybacking further on the idea of demonstrating what it is you are trying to communicate. The fourth dimension is, perhaps, the difference between an audience that is moved to tears versus one that is stoic.
-- Even more variation of color, another dimension, further spatial recognition, more connecting to the human eye, depth = even more impactful --
Here is the thing, most of us communicate at the first (conversations) and second dimensions of communication where we mainly say but don’t show what we’re trying to talk about. We read off of powerpoint slides (“death by powerpoint” is real!) or explain outside of powerpoint slides, yet we don’t have enough emotion or connective ability and have not observed enough communicators to see various methods employed as to how they drive points home and create "sticking power." We show but we don’t both show AND tell things. We talk but we don’t show it, OR we talk and show it but we don’t speak it while talking it and showing it at the same time, if that makes sense.
How do you jump from the second to the third and fourth? Observation, application/a bit of imitation on who you’ve seen do this really well in order to see what you can do (but you’re NOT a carbon copy of them, so you MUST develop your own style and skillset), the development of your own style, voice, and emotion weaved within it, and then predominately focusing on connecting (vulnerability = huge) to the audience.
Is there anything wrong with solely communicating from the first or second?
No, I don't think so, as effectiveness is, perhaps, impacted, along with remembrance or "sticking power," but first, second, third and fourth all fit various contexts. Some opportunities require more conversational forms of communication that yield tremendous results and nuggets of wisdom imparted to people such as podcasts with two-four people on there talking about various things. The reason why I listen to podcasts or other forms of communication is specifically for conversation or for key thoughts or things that stick out to me that are fascinating and "game changers."
Fourth Dimension IRL:
I am particularly fascinated as to when Heath Ledger was acting as the Joker in the 2008 movie, Batman: The Dark Knight Rises, as many people don’t know this but he actually got in ‘the zone’ as the Joker. As a communicator/rising speaker, this has always stuck with me in that he got in the zone by embodying ‘the zone.’ If you are familiar with his story, he may have, unfortunately, gone a little too far in his approach:
“He embedded him into his own psyche through meditation.” Heath was quoted saying, “It [was] a combination of reading all the comic books I could that were relevant to the script and then just closing my eyes and meditating on it,” Ledger said in an interview with Empire Magazine.
“To execute the metamorphosis, the star locked himself away in a hotel room for weeks on end. He would later reveal that this extreme action nearly took him to the brink. “I ended up landing more in the realm of a psychopath — someone with very little to no conscience towards his acts,” Ledger continued. It was this version of his character that he brought to life on screen, a Joker that he described as ‘an absolute sociopath, a cold-blooded, mass-murdering clown.’” (https://www.thethings.com/howy-heath-ledger-transformed-into-the-joker/)
Yet, nonetheless, his performance as the Joker won him an Oscar award. His ability to communicate or embody his acting role as the Joker was astounding and incredibly convincing. Isn’t that what the art of communication is? To persuade, to pull in, to eloquently or powerfully communicate a concept, position, or book full of concepts to someone in a way that brings it to… life?
As a mental health advocate, I would never recommend anyone to do this and go to that level of dedication to communicate one’s role in a movie as an actor, but, nonetheless, this approach is fascinating in the analysis of communication of the third and fourth dimension in its most effective form.
See this random article on “method acting” ( https://collider.com/actors-method-acting/) where actors have gotten 'in the zone,’ have built reputation on this method and have gotten significant accolades on their acting/communication ability to represent someone or something in a unique way.
This epitomizes the third and fourth dimension of communication: where your words or actions are backed by movement, action, pitches, sounds, or something that hits the ‘fourth dimension’ to communicate to you that we’re beyond a simple X, Y and X,Y, XY axis graph but that we’re in another dimension of communication that resonates with you more than the first and second to the third and fourth dimension because it connects with you in way that hits your emotions or sensorys. This is why actions speak louder than words at times on top of the words you speak out. Things like a crescendo or a decrescendo in the way you communicate to illustrate the loudness of something or the softness or quietness of a point of something can be essential for communicating well. Thus, at the core of fourth dimension is bringing it…. To… life! But to those wanting to make the jump… speak to a bunch of stuffed animals, or the birds and the bees outside to get more of your footing down. Then, practice, practice, practice.
To those learning their own style, get your own. I like using demonstrations and playing around with words and utilizing puns and communicating off details that I notice or pictures that I see, or connecting with the audience because of how I am wired and how it flows naturally to me. Be natural. Be you and that’s it. I wish I knew about the dangers of sounding like carbon copy sooner when I started listening to many communicators, but as soon as you start to copy someone too much where someone can solely tell that you’ve been listening to only one communicator’s style that you really like and flow with, it’s time to read what they speak and not hear them talk as much because you are in danger of becoming a legitimate carbon copy and that’s not good. Detach.
A personal example for me would be if I was asked to speak on let's say "Insecurity and its Relation to the Business World," I would literally speak on a personal example on how I was insecure on XYZ, relate it over to people, connect, ‘hero’s journey it' as to how I overcame it, slam down the effectiveness of getting through it by writing a list of all my insecurities and slamming them down and looping in the audience to do the same. I would then talk about how my inner voice was getting louder than my perceived Creator’s voice that was encouraging me at the time. To which I would then communicate it to you via a crescendo of my inner voice getting louder in communicating to you how my inner voice was speaking to me about the situation around me to then pivot it and make other encouraging voices around me as well as my Creator’s voice louder than mine by contrasting both my voice and others voices and my Creator’s voice as LOUDER than my own inner voice by decrescendo-ing my once loud inner voice all the way to a whisper before an audience. To me, this was effective in helping me lower how I hear my voice because of the voice of insecurity in my head telling me what I can’t do because of how I see myself or what I don't see in myself. This, I think, has sticking power (the key to effective communication is sticking power because it is the remembrance of something from the day, weeks, months, or years after. The goal is to register an emotional connection with you that left you a tad more transformed. Let it be known that sticking power can also be done in the first, second, third, or fourth dimension). and makes it incredibly memorable to you because of how it connected to you in your own insecurity of how I spoke about mine and how we all have that same inner voice that needs to shut up and shut down so it doesn’t shut others or ourselves down. Yes, insecurity is deep within the business world. Yes, it infects people and ruins people’s self confidence and the ability to think they can do more than they believe. If this is you, write a list of everything down that is bothering you about yourself with things like "I am not ____" or "I do this ____ all the time and I hate it about myself" and then slam it down with "I am fearfully and WONDERFULLY made."
Where do you fall at? Are you trying to endeavor into all four? Are you trying to niche in one area only?
If you enjoyed this, DM me here and let's chat on what you liked or where you think you fall and why!
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