Un-Lost in Translation: Building a Bridge of Communication
One of the reasons we have miscommunication and toxic conflict in societal culture here and abroad is because we communicate intensely without connecting intentionally. Communication without connection leads to broken communication almost always.
In 2003, a quirky movie starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson named ‘Lost in Translation’ explored the intimacy of human connection. These two very different people form an unlikely bond in the midst of the strangeness of life.
While most probably haven’t seen that movie, we have all lived our own lost in translation experiences. We are talking to our colleague and our message is lost in translation. We are speaking to our children and our message is lost in translation. We are speaking to our barista in the Starbucks drive through and our message is lost in translation. Though we are speaking the same language technically, it seems that we might be speaking Mandarin while they are understanding French.
Expanding to our larger cultural landscape, the societal zeitgeist is filled with miscommunication and lost in translation episodes. It fuels our divisions, our misunderstandings, our ideological/political/theological polarizations, along with the myriad of other fractures among us. But communication at it’s highest levels is much more than an exchange of words and ideas. It is the transference of humanity.
So let’s create a “Un-Lost in Translation” Rubric.
Our rubric contains 4 unique but interwoven elements to get un-lost in our communication.
Connection
Communication
Community
Communion
The first element, is Connection.
Connection is a relationship where a person, thing, idea is liked or associated with something else. In the element of connection a quick way to create this is by listening and asking questions.
Our question for connection is: “What is your story?”
Imagine all the possibilities behind that simple question.
'There isn't anyone you couldn't love once you've heard their story. - Mary Lou Kownacki —
The next element is Community.
Community is a group of people who have common interests that live in common area. With the internet, social media platforms, and digital everything, physical proximity is no longer core to building community. But no matter what the zip code, time zone, or continent we reside in, to build community we must find common ground.
The question for connection is:
“What from your story connects your story to mine?”
The third element is Communion.
At first glance it might seem out of place. We automatically think of communion as a Christian church ordinance outlined in the Bible.
But in our “Un-Lost in Translation” rubric, we are not speaking about pastors, priests, bread, wine, prayers, or religious experience. We are talking about depth. Depth of connection, understanding, and relationship. Communion is sharing and exchanging intimate thoughts and feelings. In this, we are creating a human bridge that makes building the Un-Lost in translation possible.
The question for communion is:
What part of your story has caused you the greatest pain and how does it impact you today?”
The last element is Communication.
Communication can now occur with much more clarity now that the Un-Lost in Translation bridge has been constructed. I’m it’s simplest and clinical form, communication is imparting or exchanging information. But we don’t live in an environment of clinical sterility and simplicity. We live in the mashup of ideas, emotions, biases, misunderstandings, projections, traumas, (and more) online and offline that create a dizzying complexity that makes communication harder than ever. That is why the Un-Lost in Translation bridge is so essential.
After building this bridge, the question for communication is:
What would you like to share with me, and why is it important to you?”
By building “Un-Lost in Translation” bridges, maybe we can better understand each other, solve some of the daunting problems facing all of us, and create a more beautiful world.