Communication and Our Shared Humanity

Lately, I’ve been sitting with a heaviness that I can’t quite shake.

If you’ve been paying attention to what’s happening in our country, you may feel it too.

There is a lot of fear and anger right now. A lot of “us versus them.” Entire groups of people are being reduced to labels, soundbites and stereotypes. And when that happens, something deeply human gets lost.

None of this happens in a vacuum.

In recent blogs, we’ve talked about perception, perspective and listening. How the way we see the world shapes how we communicate. And how communication, in turn, shapes the way we see the world we live in.

And those same dynamics shape how we see other people.

Stereotypes, bias and racism are not hardwired into us. We are not born knowing who belongs and who doesn’t. We don’t enter the world with labels already attached to people based on race, religion, nationality or who they love.

These are human constructs. And they are learned through communication.

Communication is how we make sense of the world around us. It’s how we share stories, pass down traditions, create art and build community. But it’s also how fear gets taught. How misinformation spreads. How harmful narratives are passed from one generation to the next.

If you ask most people what they want out of life, the answers are remarkably similar. Safety. Security. Health. Love. A better future for their children. A sense of belonging.

At our core, we want the same things.

And yet, when we stop listening and start labeling, it becomes easier to forget that shared humanity. It becomes easier to believe stories about people instead of taking the time to hear from them, see them, and recognize ourselves in them.

When I was getting my master’s degree in interpersonal communication, people would ask what I planned to do with it. My answer was always the same. “What am I not going to do with it?”

Interpersonal communication touches everything. 

• How we see ourselves. 

• How we relate to others. 

• How we interpret the news. 

• How we decide who deserves empathy and who doesn’t.

If we slowed down enough to examine our own perceptions and perspectives, and if we listened openly to the lived experiences of others, really listened, we might realize how much we have in common.

There would be less fear and more understanding. Less division and more connection. Less hatred and more humanity.

Equality is not pie. When someone else is given dignity, safety or opportunity, there isn’t less left for you. It’s not a zero-sum game.

At SPEAC Success, we believe:

• Communication matters because people matter. 

• Words matter because lives are affected by them. 

• Listening matters because it’s how bridges are built instead of burned.

This is not about politics. It’s about people.

And my hope, always, is that we choose communication that brings us closer to our shared humanity rather than further apart.

With heart and humanity,