"Barista language" echoed in my ears loudly! As part of the people management aspects, I always used to say, "Communication is not what you say but what the other person understands!" (Rajagopalan, 2018). I often emphasize them in my training about managing stakeholder engagement by push, pull, and interactive communications in formal and informal settings relating to both verbal and non-verbal clues. But my thoughts in all these areas were implicitly focused on formally recognized scripted languages used by people to speak and write! Hence, I missed that connection to the glossary of terms that people use naturally as part of their business.
For those that are not familiar, coffee could be served as "Latte, Caffe Mocha, Iced Coffee, Red Eye, Americano, Cortado, Cold brew, Cafe con Leche, Cappuccino, Caffe Macchiato, Flat white, Pour over, and Long black." For your information, this is not the entire listing! Every type of coffee listed here has a different way of preparation, different origin of beans, different types of mixes, etc. Where is "Regular" here that I asked of the Barista? I assumed "Regular" is always the standard Americano! As I pondered over what my son was trying to emphasize, "Coffee is like a culture with each variation being a tribe of its own!" Naturally, therefore, there is a Barista language. No wonder the "Regular" that this coffee shop served was local to their culture and business! I am sure the same can be said for tea, wine, and other hot drinks.
This is a new learning twist for me! I have always described communication as not what you said but what the other person understood (Rajagopalan, 2017). Unlike many that may think that this thought process may be aligned with people's personality, I based my thought mainly on people's big picture vs details mindset, the attention span orientation, and their emotional connectivity to the topic! While the personality instruments, such as the most popular MBTI and DiSC are reliable and validated, it is an individuals' self-scoring mechanism. People change and so does their personality! So, if people use these instrument's labels, then, they may bring their bias that may not characterize others.
For instance, while I was studying in India, I never talked with others because I came from a Tamil instructional medium. I felt it was difficult to put my thoughts in words and embarrassed to speak due to the inability to speak and respond. Naturally, I felt like an introvert, but I changed to be an extrovert. I feel like an ambivert because that level of quiet thinking is required for big picture abstract thinking (without which I couldn't have completed my PhD, pursued several certifications for my growth, or supported a PMO for 10 years) but lobby with many stakeholders and regulators for numerous projects and initiatives.
Yet, with all this understanding, how complacent sometimes I have been! How complacent and sometimes reticent people can be when they lack some of this understanding and fail to make deeper connections! I understand Risk means Hazard, Harm, Issue, Impediment, Obstacle, Blocker, etc. Depending on business, each sector comes up with its own language specific to that company. Let us practice in real life how to do this as I will try my best moving forward. Yes, communication is not about what you think and say but what others perceive and understand! Learning is fun! Continuous learning is exciting! Thanks to my son reemphasizing this thought!
Thoughts? Anyone want to express additional insights on? I am sure there are tea aficionados and wine connoisseurs. Let us enrich communication with languages yet to be recognized formally or not yet adopted widely!
References
Rajagopalan, S. (2017). Organized Common Sense. Outskirts Press.
