Saturday, April 23, 2011

Balance

Balance. More often than not in life we forget to take a moment to really think about the balance in our lives. We are overloaded with homework, meetings, internships, jobs, families, friends, stressful times and relaxing times. It's easy to get overwhelmed with all of the things going on in our lives and lose the balance.

Frank Roby, CEO of Concero Global and Empower African Children, spoke with our class about the importance of balance in every aspect of life. At our very basic level, according to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, we are in survival mode. When we are in this mode, according to Roby, we pull on our instincts. We have a core strength that any time we are in conflict, we can pull on. The problem is, everyone's core strengths are a little different. Some people may be on complete opposite ends of the spectrum. "Relationships strive for balance - communication strives to achieve that balance." So, through communication we are able to find a middle ground. "As you get away from the balance point, communication gets harder," Roby said. As human beings, no matter what situation we are dealing with, we tend to push out to the edges. We take sides and stick to our side - no matter what the other person says. But whether we are talking about a friendship, a business relationship, or competing companies, balance plays a constant role in each.

Roby talked about an example with MSNBC and FOX News. One is obviously thought to be on the left and the other on the right. The only way consumers can balance the news they hear from these two sources is to watch both or get their news elsewhere. The information is off balance and therefore changes the way some of us view events in the news.

It can be hard to create balance in a world where competition is everywhere. But the more we communicate, the more balance we create. Our job as communicators will be to help bridge the gap between these imbalances and get the most accurate message across to the public.

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