Effective communication is vital for building relationships, exchanging ideas, and accomplishing goals in our fast-paced world. However, communication goes beyond the mere transmission of information; it requires comprehension, the ability to understand and interpret the message being conveyed. This blog will explore the fascinating interplay between communication and comprehension, exploring their symbiotic relationship and the key elements contributing to their success.

The first area we will break down is communication. Communication is transmitting information, ideas, and emotions between individuals or groups. It encompasses various forms, such as verbal, non-verbal, written, and visual. Understanding how to respond is essential. This is similar to comprehension, but only at the surface level.

Comprehension, on the other hand, refers to understanding, assimilating, and interpreting information received. It is not limited to surface-level understanding but involves grasping the context, subtext, and underlying emotions. Effective comprehension enables individuals to respond appropriately, engage in meaningful dialogue, and think critically.

Today, people lack communication and comprehension skills, but which one is more important to learn and understand? This debate can go either way since the terms are meant to be used in unison, but our world today has taken out comprehension from the mix because being able to comprehend and think for yourself can be dangerous today. So simply knowing what is said is enough rather than knowing why.

Communicating with a group of people to challenge the status quo and ask questions will elevate their comprehension skills, and they begin to ask the burning questions that keep them stuck. For example, Why are men portrayed as dangerous and toxic for being leaders? Or Why are men being encouraged to be feminized and step away from masculinity? This conversation is popular, but only a few people can comprehend the true meaning behind the push for weakness and fragility in men. This is why clarity is vital to effective communication.

Clear and concise communication minimizes the chances of misinterpretation. Using precise language, avoiding jargon, and organizing thoughts coherently enhance comprehension, and it also helps people understand and realize their power and potential. That way of thinking was lost when people stopped working together and living solitary lifestyles void of needing people. This caused a void in communication and is one of the reasons people cannot have cordial conversations anymore.

It is easier to avoid defending our logic with someone with an opposing view. Our active listening skills involve paying full attention to the speaker and focusing on verbal and non-verbal cues. Still, people have difficulty hearing opinions different than theirs without interjection. Active listening should suspend judgment until they can ask clarifying questions to ensure accurate comprehension.

When the two are mixed, effective communication depends not solely on the sender’s skills but also on the recipient’s comprehension abilities. If the message is not understood accurately, misinterpretation, confusion, and misunderstandings may arise. Comprehension is the key to bridging the gap between the sender and receiver, ensuring that the intended message is received and interpreted correctly.

Conversely, comprehension skills are vital in accurately understanding and interpreting messages. Even the most skilled communicator may fail to convey their message if the receiver lacks comprehension skills. Comprehension allows individuals to extract the underlying meaning, empathize with the speaker, and respond appropriately.

This is a major issue today because people lack the skills to fully comprehend because, in a sense, they have been brainwashed. A great example of this is the pandemic. There were two sides pitted against each other. The vaxers and the unvaxxed or the people who wore masks and those who didn’t. Both sides would communicate their argument, but the other could not comprehend why the others did not follow their lead.

You might have heard terminology like trust the science, or it is a fact that masks help. Though there can be truth behind certain studies and situations, there are situations when science was incorrect and masks didn’tt work. When presented with people with this singular mindset, they will shut off all reasoning skills because they admittedly believe that they are right and everyone else is wrong and crazy.

In today’s information-rich world, excessive stimuli can overwhelm our ability to comprehend or make sound reasons. This becomes even more difficult when mixed with fear and apparent sound reasoning. However, there is a dead giveaway when it comes to people trying to make you think a certain way and not for yourself, and that is not to question the narrative. This means that what someone communicates to you cannot be rebounded or looked into.

What needs to be done instead is to practice selective listening, organizing information, and prioritizing key points to aid in reflective comprehension. Reflective comprehension is something you will not learn in schools, but it is something you will learn here at Reven Concepts. This coined phrase is more about looking through the words to find the meaning. A great example is if you are looking at the water, you can either look at the surface or deeper to the bottom. The only thing that changes is your focus.

You may be wondering why you should even bother becoming a better communicator or better at comprehension. The simple answer is that as people start to notice and look at you succeed wildly, they will try to coerce you to stop or slow down. If you are skilled at communication and comprehension, you will know why they are doing that and how to navigate through that. You will also help your subconscious to solidify your purpose to mitigate the number of self-made obstacles because you will already be dealing with outside attacks on your reasoning, so communication and comprehension are key.

Communication and comprehension are intertwined and dependent on each other for effective understanding. Clear communication sets the foundation, while comprehension ensures accurate interpretation and a deep understanding. Currently, people need both effective communication and comprehension skills. Though this is the case, people can still communicate to some degree, but only on the surface level. Staying in that basic way of thinking will not help our growth, so we have to learn how to see deeper, so we can do more than understand. Our growth depends on what we can relay and see, so if these are skills you need help with, reach out to us today.

Until then,

Michael Rearden

Founder of Reven Concepts