For the writer that I am, I have never been as good an orator in my interpersonal interactions or communication. It is not about the confidence as Speaking comes to me as not quite as natural a thing. I dig deep, build a context, go slow, take my time and then try and make or rather assert a point in the discssuion. But for most, it is point that matters and the not context and they tend to react in such a manner as if they have run out of all the patience in the world. Getting down to the point is an important aspect of the communication that we do in daily lives but not if we do not understand the context in which the things are being discussed and the process that someone wants to take you through as then, the communication is equally as ineffective as it can get. This is something, which being a Marketing Professional, worries me more than just a little.

Let me give you an example, which most of you being “to the point” kind of conversationists, might need a little more time to come around to but it is still as relevant as it can get. Let’s just say you are planning for a movie, may be a great movie that your were looking forward to watch, ever since the project for the flick was announced. Now imagine, through Social Media or discussion with friends or family or through any other media, you learn about the climax of the movie but you have already booked the tickets for the same. Now what?? Would you let the movie pass and not hit the theater only because you know the climax? I agree that learning about the climax before watching the film is something that takes a part of the experience away but hang on! Is climax the only experience you go to the movie for? Is it the only thing to be consumed in the movie or is it only a part of it that we eventually get down to?

If it were only for the climax then reading the story of the first half on Wikipedia or other databases on the internet and getting into the theaters post interval, would have made perfect sense. But it doesn’t. Right?? So why is it that we do not go to a movie only for the climax that it has, which we pretty much know these days before hands in the world of Social Media and Internet.

Actually, a movie is more than just the climax. The movie is more than just the final outcome that it has to present to you. It is about the build up to that climax that is a movie. The songs and the music, the background score, the screenplay that depicts the story that thrill us to the core and take our anxiety and the excitement about the climax and the suspense the final scene of the movie holds, to the next level. Climax is a mere point, the movie before that, which is its build up, is something that provides you the context in which the climax makes or doesn’t make sense to you and results into your experience of that movie.

Now apply the same framework to a sporting event or a Cricket match. If only the points made in due course of the discussions were important, you would have probably never bought a ticket to the match or watched the entire game. In that case, it would have been sufficient enough to have checked the match summary on various sites or read the article by a journalist upon the match. But mere stats, short summaries of players’ performances and final out come: Win / Loss / Draw/ Tie, are not the only part of the match that matter, it is the process and the due course of the whole match that makes your experience of watching that match and makes you understand, as to why a certain team won or lost the game and why a player perfromed or did not perform.

Now we come back to the point of our discussion. The point is it is not only the final outcome of a discussion and the final point to be made, but the thorough understanding of the entire discussuion that matters too. If you do not read the lines completely, reading between the lines and specially, reading the ‘Specifics’ that those lines are trying to point towards, will never be possible. When I make a point, not only listening to that point but also the thought process as to why do I think so, is something that becomes crucial. Without understanding one’s context, one’s thought process and rationale behind the point one is making, knowing the points, will make no sense.

The reason why most of the B – Schools and Universities around the world, use the Case Based Learning Methodology, is the fact that Case Studies present to the readers, a greater and much more significant context and process through which the decisions that affect or result into the final outcome of a business scenario, are made. It is about understanding the process, the context and the logical framework through which the decisions are being made rather than just the decision as this imbibes a more wholesome learning experience into the students or trainees. Same holds true in case of a discussion as then again, the thoguht process, the context and the rationale throguh which the points are being made are more important than a mere point which is just the outcome and not the entire case.

So next time we meet someone and discuss things with them, let us spend time in not only paying attention to WHAT is being said but also to the fact WHY is it being said, to the extent the time and all the patience in the world allows.