The Importance Of Knowing Your Audience (How You Communicate With Others).

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During my time growing up as a youth in the 80's and 90's, there was something that I feel has somewhat become irrelevant in today's society. What I am referring to was deemed as a big deal to have, and if you didn't exhibit the characteristics that coincide with what I'm referencing, you probably had a harder time growing up compared to those that had these. I'm sure by now that you're anxious to know what I am referring to right? I am talking about "manners". I personally feel that the importance of having manners and courtesy towards others is something that has dwindled as I've gotten older. Now I'm in no way saying that people today do not have manners. It just seems to me that small things such as saying "ma'am" and "sir" don't have the level of importance that they once did. Maybe I'm old fashioned or whatever the case may be, but I'm still a believer manners and courtesy matter and are of importance in this world. From my own personal perspective, I believe manners and communication are interconnected. I bring all of this up to say that every single one of us has an audience at various points throughout our lives. By audience, I don't necessarily mean that we're filling up a packed arena of screaming fans. Though that may be the reality of some, the type of audience that I'm referencing doesn't have anything to do with a particular number of people. For me, it means having a person or group of people that are listening to what you're saying. We may not have the type of audience that a celebrity may have, but when you're in situations where you have to communicate with another person, you have to be aware of who is listening, as well how you communicate with them.

Yo, what is going on people? This is your boy Brad H. back once again, and I'd like to once again welcome you all to another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! I am back for a fresh perspective on a topic that can hopefully inspire us to keep on moving forward. Thanks to everyone that stopped by once again. Well for the soapbox section this week, I'm going to talk more NBA playoff talk. Boy I tell ya, the Houston Rockets were a huge disappointment last night. Most of you know that I'm a San Antonio Spurs fan first, but I got love for the Rockets. It was disappointing to see them go down last night and lose the series in six games to the Golden State Warriors. It's just hard to believe that they lost to a Warriors team that didn't have Kevin Durant. Furthermore, they were at home and Stephen Curry didn't even score a point in the first half of the game. I know there were many that believed that had Chris Paul not gotten injured last season that the Rockets would have went to the NBA Finals. Well they had a healthy Chris Paul this season and still managed to not get it done. I believe that the Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni's system can't beat this Warriors team. I'm not a Warriors fan at all, but you have to admit that the way they move and share the basketball is a thing of beauty. That isolation and three point shooting system by D'Antoni isn't a match for that. Maybe now the Rockets front office will see that by now and make some changes. As for the Warriors, there isn't a timetable on when Kevin Durant may be back. Even without him, I still would take the Warriors to win against any team that is left. Now we just have to wait and see who will be the other two teams that join the Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks in the conference championships. For those of you that have been keeping up with the NBA playoffs, what has been your opinion of them so far? Would love to see your comments on that. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, lets transition into this week's topic of knowing who your audience is.

In order to set up the point that I'm going to attempt to get across in this week's topic, I have to first get into what I'm referring to in the context of what I mean when talking about having an audience. As I brought up earlier, an audience doesn't necessarily have to be limited to a specific number of people. You don't only need a group of people to have an audience. The type of audience that I'm talking about for this week's topic is the people that we interact with on a pretty normal basis. These are the people that are our family, friends, and business related associates. Basically any person that you have any sort of relationship with can be classified as part of your audience. Why is this? Simply put, anyone that you have a relationship with is someone that is going to have to listen to what you have to say at some point or another. These are the people that you have to communicate with, which means that the things you say and the way that you interact with them matters. Now there are some people in this world that don't care much about the reactions that they get from others based on what they have said. Those aren't the type of individuals that this topic will resonate with. This particular topic more or less is for people that actually care about what they say and the ways in which they express themselves. Now that we've talked over the type of audience that we're addressing with this topic, I'm going to get into why I believe it is important to know who your audience is.

Knowing who your audience is depends a lot on the circumstances in which you're having to communicate with someone else. A singer has to know who their audience is based on how well that audience will respond to the songs that they choose to perform. A comedian has to know their audience when it comes to the jokes that they are planning on telling. Whether you're an entertainer or not in this life, the same logic applies when it comes to knowing how you communicate with others. Since we as people have to deal with various types of people and personalities, it is important to be able to recognize those individual personalities. You can't talk to two different people the same exact way and expect to be able to communicate in a healthy manner. For example, imagine that you have two friends that have different personalities. Lets say that one of these friends is more sensitive, and the other is not. Now depending on how close you are with these two individuals, you likely won't talk to them in the same manner. You may show a little more compassion with the friend that is sensitive. You may cater more to their feelings than you normally would with people. With the other friend that may not be as sensitive, you can probably be more transparent with them when you communicate with them. It's the same logic as why we reveal certain things to some people, and we withhold those things from others. You know how certain people will react, and you govern what you say accordingly.

The final point I want to make is what I brought up in the first paragraph about courtesy and manners. As I stated already, these are traits that I feel do not hold the same level of credence as they once did in our society. Now some of you may wonder what exactly does this have to do with anything right? Well from my perspective, having manners and courtesy towards the people that could be considered our audiences is the catalyst for proper communication. I personally believe that the reason that so many people lack the proper knowledge of their audiences is due to the fact that manners and courtesy are missing. Think about it for a second. Would you be more willing to respond to or do something for someone who comes at you respectfully, or all buck wild and rude? The average person would probably say that they would respond more to the person that approaches them in a more respectful manner. I believe that this should also be applied when it comes to the people that we're close to. Don't always assume that because you have a friendship or relationship with someone else that they're always going to tolerate you if you're not approaching them in the correct way. Always know and be aware of who you are interacting with, and be willing to take their thoughts and considerations into account. Everything that I've brought up here is just a suggestion. Everyone is free to do whatever they please, but I believe that knowing your audience is the way to proper communication.

I think that pretty much wraps up this week's topic. I'm going to go ahead and sign off for now, but you all know that I'll be back again in couple of weeks as always. Thank you once again for those of you that checked out another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! I hope that this topic was able to serve as a source of inspiration for some of you out there. If anyone wants to leave any feedback or comments, please feel free to do so. You can also connect with me on Twitter @BradrickH. It's been a super wet and rainy weekend here in southeast Texas. I probably won't be able to go outside and enjoy Mothers Day, but I hope that everyone else has a great one. Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers out there, and I hope you all enjoy your weekend. Take care everyone, and I'll see you all in the next one!

©2019 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

Never Tolerate Disrespect From Others(Cutting People Off).

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R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Those are seven letters that resonate with almost everyone in some way. We hear people mention them on television, and in movies. We've heard countless musicians shout out those letters in songs and most importantly, we've heard them from our parents, teachers, and elders throughout our lives. Respect is one of those words that is so simple, but carries a lot of weight. It's a word that we as a people use on a regular basis. However, there are a lot of people that throw the word respect around like it's an inanimate object. From my perspective, it seems like many of us have lost the ability to respect others, and there are too many of us that are tolerating disrespect from others.

Welcome to another edition of 'Brad H's Perspective'. I've somewhat been on an hiatus for the last couple of weeks, but I'm back once again. So this time around we're talking about the word respect, and how so many people tolerate disrespect from others. Before I get into my thoughts on this, I want to briefly define what respect is. I'm sure that most of you already know the definition, but it never hurts to rehash something that is considered to be important. I Googled the word 'respect', and it's defined as; "a positive feeling of esteem or deference for a person or other entity (such as a nation or a religion), and also specific actions and conduct representative of that esteem." When I think of the word respect, I think of acknowledging someone else as a human-being.

In today's society, respect is loosely given. I realize that a person must possess various qualities in order to gain respect from others. Any person that engages in unethical actions, or fails to meet their responsibilities in life, are not likely to be respected by others. However, it seems that people are respecting people for all the wrong reasons. Some of those reasons can include; material items, sexual conquests, and physical attractiveness. I think we've lost what it means to have respect others peoples thoughts, ideas, and opinions, especially if they don't match with how we individually view the world. If a person's views aren't considered popular in most people's eyes, that person likely won't be respected by a wider range of people most of the time. You don't always have to like what someone says, but you can still be respectful of their thoughts. Since we're all human and have different ways of thinking, this should both come natural, and be welcoming.

Here is a prime example of what I mean when I say people are giving the word respect to all the wrong things. There are guys in the world who tolerate disrespect from women because the woman is physically attractive. You got women that allow guys to treat them any kind of way because he does things for her, or has a certain amount of money in his bank account. Does being physically attractive and having a lot of money entitle a person to respect if their character is all messed up? I think that a person's character and how they carry themselves is more worthy of being respected rather than how much money they have or the looks they possess. Just because a person is better off or has obtained a certain level of success in life doesn't give them the right to disrespect others. Just my opinion.

It's like this; you never have to tolerate disrespect from anyone if you don't want. Many people are lacking self-esteem, which is the reason why most tolerate disrespect from people who they know don't respect them. A lot of people use a stern tone and tactics to demand their respect from others. I'm also a believer that you can do more without words as well. You can always choose to cut someone that you feel doesn't respect you out of your life. You may not be able to choose who you come across in life, but you can always choose whether or not you want to deal with them. You should never want to deal with a person who doesn't respect you, or what you have to say. It's okay to release these kind of people.

So to sum it up, you don't have to tolerate disrespect. If someone doesn't respect you, leave them alone. Any person that truly cares about you will respect you entirely, and not just for what you have or what you can do for them. Well that's it for this edition of 'Brad H's Perspective'. I hope you enjoyed reading this. Before I go, I want to reiterate that these are solely my own thoughts. I'm far from an expert on anything. I'm just a normal everyday person that is looking to motivate myself and share my thoughts with others. Till next time peace and love.

Your Approach Is Everything(Respect).

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Not everyone that we come across or rub the wrong way is extremely sensitive. Sometimes we as people don't take caution or heed how we approach others. Often times the first thing that comes to our minds, is what comes out of our mouths. In some cases this causes others to become angry or upset with us, which often leads to even bigger conflicts, and even more issues. We have to work on how we approach and interact with others. That's what I'm going to discuss in this blog post. Hello everyone, this is Brad H coming back at you again with another edition of 'Brad H's Perspective'. As always, thanks for tuning in.

So maybe you have someone that you want to talk something over with, but you're not entirely sure how to come at them. You want to get your point across, but you don't want to offend them. You want to come across as being as respectful as possible, but you want to make sure that you get your point across exactly in the manner you want. These are scenarios that all of us may face on a regular basis. On the flip side, there are some people who don't give much thought or care about how others react to what they have to say. Their approach and tone towards others often times comes off as an aggressive one. Due to their aggressive and forceful nature, they could easily be considered to be downright rude by others. Most of the time, not in cases, a person will strike back if they feel attacked. What does this solve? Absolutely nothing, and it sometimes makes a small problem an even bigger one. That's not what we should be aiming for.

It's true that the direct approach is often the best approach. However, direct and aggressive are two different things in my opinion. I personally feel that a person, who comes at someone else in an aggressive manner, is more than likely looking for a conflict most of the time. Lets face it. We all know that some people are just dramatic by nature, and enjoy seeing or being a part of drama with others. I also feel that a person who chooses a direct approach doesn't necessarily want conflict, but is looking to get their point across in a respectful manner. The key word is dealing with others is RESPECT. It's important to pick and choose the right time and the right place when approaching others. When expressing your concerns with others, try to set a positive and peaceful tone. A person is more likely to respond to you in a non-aggressive manner if they feel relaxed, and not attacked.

So to sum it all up, we must all work on our approach and relations with others. It's kinda like what I said in a previous blog post; we have to choose and pick our words wisely. You never know how a person will react when you approach them, but I think we're more likely to have a better outcome if we think wisely about our approach. Well that's it for this edition of 'Brad H's Perspective'. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you all next time around. Peace!

Why don't people listen?

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Hello once again. It's me Brad H coming back at you again. Hope all is well with everyone. Quite a few exciting things have happened since the last time I posted. First, we had the start of the NFL season, which is always an exciting time for sport fans. We also had the highly anticipated boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Victor Ortiz, that occurred on September 17th. Being a sports fan in general, I must say that I'm pretty hyped for the football season. I'm also doing fantasy football this year. It hasn't started out too well for me so far though. I hope to be able to keep you all posted in the future though.

Tonight I want to ask something that has been on my mind recently. Why is it that people don't listen, and take us seriously at times? Do you ever find yourself becoming frustrated when you are speaking about something passionate to you, only to find out that others don't take you seriously. It's almost like they look at you as a joke, or like someone who doesn't know anything. I'm sure most of you who reads this has encountered people like this at sometime in your life. Now I don't claim to know everything by any means. However, I tend to think that when I speak about certain things or topics I know what I'm talking about. For one, I do my research on things that are passionate to me. I try to be well informed on things that I speak about with others. I give others respect when it comes to their thoughts and opinions, even though I don't receive that respect back at times. Basically I try to do unto others as I would like done to me. However, some people still tend to block out and ignore things on my mind.

I was told earlier today by a close family member that they couldn't take me seriously when it came to a certain topic we were discussing. It kinda upset me, but I kept my cool. That's one thing that I enjoy about this blogging thing. I'm able to get things off my mind regardless as to whether people choose to read or not. I don't intend to sound arrogant when I say this, but I'm pretty sure some of these people who don't listen to me or take me seriously, they will someday. It makes me think about something my grandmother has told me several times before. She says the Bible says; "take your enemy and make them your footstool". A lot of people treat mistreat and disrespect others, but these are the same people you may end up needing someday. I haven't seen it fail yet. That's definitely something to think about. Well that's my post for tonight. Hope anyone who reads enjoys, and feel free to leave thoughts or feedback. Well take care everyone, and I'll be back soon. I'm out!