Perspective is something; not everything

Scott Schwab

I wanted to include some thoughts about perspective in general. It is difficult to state exactly what perspective is, but often easy to state that a person has a good perspective. Perspective is the ability to see things from multiple views. It is something that companies often pay large dollars, for people that have it. Some may call it a gift, and others would say it is a skill. I believe that anyone can gain perspective simply by gaining knowledge; however, if a person is naturally closed to ideas or other points of view, it will not matter. That same person will not consider the other point of view or perspective. So the main point is to remain open and educate ourselves as much as possible. I see it many times in communication and I will also use the example of the gym. When people get used to doing a particular workout they often feel closed to other suggestions and ideas. In communication I learned a valuable lesson in a college communications course. The question was asked; "who's responsibility in a conversation is it to communicate a point?" Many of us thought, well it must be the person who is the receiver, because the sender is giving the information provided. According to current studies it is always the sender that is responsible to accurately describe their point of view or perspective. Think about this the next time that you are in a conversation; it is your responsibility to make sure the person you are communicating with understands. You can do this through stories, examples, models, or just simply knowing who your audience is, seems to be most effective. As far as our goals to improve, make the goal to improve yourself by being a better communicator and ultimately having a better perspective. Who knows, you may even be paid to give your perspective at some point. When you think about executives, CEO's, and other positions in the employment world, often we are being paid for our perspective on things. If we can improve our perspective and educate ourselves from many angles, we can increase our ability for marketability.