Today's discussion in class was regarding some of the fundamental principles of communication. One of those that struck me is what I'll call "the bubble principle." Essentially, every one of us is walking around inside a bubble that colors how we view our world. That bubble is made up of our past, our current perceptions, our thoughts about the future, our hopes, our feelings, memories of our fight with our roommate last night, if we had breakfast that morning, the list goes on. Our bubble is our filter through which reality is perceived. Everyone is always communicating not only from inside their own bubble, but also through the bubble of the person they are communicating with. Great communicators are aware of these bubbles, and take that into account while communicating, whether by offering information about their own bubble, trying to obtain information about the other persons bubble, or by simply acknowledging that the bubbles exist and act accordingly.
This "bubble principle" actually gives me great hope. Part of the reason I'm taking this class is because I believe myself to be a very inadequate communicator. But while I've never heard "the bubble principle" codified like this, I've been aware of it's effects for quite some time, and naturally take that into account while trying to communicate. I often find myself automatically volunteering information about my bubble while telling stories. If that is something that great communicators do already, then maybe I don't have as far to go as I thought.
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I think the bubble concept was strange as well, and when i think about it, it did help me realize more the way i communicate.
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