About Jodi O’Callaghan
Communication. Our lives are built upon it — from the way our parents talk to us as babies, through to the implicit communication we learn from the social constructs and norms of the communities we are raised in. Some of us communicate well, some not so well.
The same goes for organisations and their communication with employees (arguably an organisations most important stakeholder) — they are the lifeblood of an organisation. Like a social community who embeds communication within an individual through its shared experience and reality, the culture of, and communication within an organisation is created by its employees — through shared values, experiences, norms, beliefs and practices.
So what makes an individual or an organisation communicate the way they do? What motivates us to communicate in those ways, and why?
This experiment of writing a blog that focuses on communication in our lives — both personal and professional — has been motivated by our shared interest in communication theories in our everyday lives, and professional communication in an organisational setting.
Humans are such complex beings. I truly believe communication and psychology are so inextricably linked, at times it can be difficult to look at one without looking at the other.
I’ve personally always found there is a certain cathartic experience that comes with expressing words in a written form. Throughout my school years, I was always keenly involved in speech competitions and writing stories, and usually received pretty good marks in English, creative writing and media studies. From the age of about nine through to 22 I wrote and kept a daily diary, but the breach of trust by someone I thought I trusted at the time led me to eventually burning all my diaries I'd kept over the years, and discouraged me from ever keeping an expressive diary again. I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing ... some people say keeping old diaries can forever be a chain around your neck, others find it to be a reflective learning process.
My interest in words and writing however was not discouraged. I pursued a very short career in journalism and feature writing before settling on professional communication as my chosen career, graduating with a Master of Arts in Communication Management in 2009 (a very proud moment for me after four years of part time study!).
According to Wikipedia, the word communicate is derived from the Latin word ‘communicare’, based on the transport of letters after the Roman Empire devised what would be known today as the postal system. The Macquarie Dictionary defines the word communication as ‘the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions or information by speech, writing, or signs’. The notion of ‘communication’ can be seen in other words of shared experience — think community, commune, communiqué, communism, communion, and commute. No doubt there are many more out there, and that’s only the English language!
We hope you enjoy the journey we are about to embark on, exploring theories of communication in our own way, and how it relates to so many areas of life.
Disclaimer: the thoughts and views expressed in this blog are those of Bujuanes Livermore and Jodi O’Callaghan and do not represent any view except their own. All care is taken to be accurate and correct in any references.
