How to Communicate Effectively?

20.03.2018 Bangalore, Indie

The king and the astrologer

I want to tell you a story!

Once, an astrologer went to visit a king. The king showed great reverence to the astrologer, made him sit down and honored him with gifts.The king then showed his palm and the charts to an astrologer. The astrologer examined everything and then said to the king, O King! You will lose your entire family. Everybody is going to die before you.
You will be the last to die.”
The king got very upset upon hearing this and put the astrologer in the jail. 

When someone hears some negative prediction, they don’t like it. They obviously want to hear something nice and positive instead. And so it was for the king as well.

This news shook the entire community of astrologers. They thought, “We cannot tell the truth to the king. If we do so, he will simply put us in jail. What do we do?”

The king then called for another astrologer to appear before him. Many tried to escape this request but one senior astrologer agreed to meet the king. So, he went before the king, and the king welcomed him in the same way with gifts. The king then showed his palm to the astrologer. The astrologer said, “Oh King! What a great fortune you are blessed with! You have a very good horoscope. Nobody in history has had such longevity of age as you are going to have. In fact, nobody in your dynasty has had such great longevity.”

The astrologer never said to the king that he was going to outlive everybody else in the royal family. Instead, he told the king that he was blessed with great longevity and that he had a great horoscope.

The king was so flattered upon hearing the news of his long life and good health. He told the astrologer, “Ask for whatever gift you want from me and I shall give.”

The astrologer said, “Please release my poor colleague who is in the jail.”

Click To Tweet This Article

Moral of the story

Skill in communication makes a huge difference. With the right communication skills, we can turn any negative situation into a positive one.

There is a couplet in Kannada which says, “It is through words that fun and laughter happen, and it is through words that enmity can also happen.” Speech creates conflict and also removes conflict. Your speech should be so wonderful and sweet, that anyo
ne should simply listen and nod happily in agreement saying, “Oh yes, Oh yes.”​
That is how lovely your speech should be.

Featured Article:

Develop your reading skills

 

Subscribe

If you enjoyed reading this content and would like to receive a notification on our future updates, you can subscribe here.

Enter your email address:

You can also write to us on webteam.wisdom@artofliving.org for any questions or comments.

10 Steps to Improve Communication Skills

With the right communication skills, we can turn any negative situation into a positive one.

In this article, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar shares 10 steps one can take to develop effective communication at work and in personal relationships.

READ MORE

 

Read earlier posts

  • września 23, 2019

    września 23, 2019
  • września 23, 2019

    września 23, 2019
  • września 23, 2019

    września 23, 2019
  • września 23, 2019

    7 Steps to Cope with Frustration

    listopada 23, 2018
    • In life you will have 101 reasons to get frustrated. However it is up to you keep the enthusiasm alive without allowing the frustration to seep in. Here are some pointers to help you keep frustration at bay.
  • maja 1, 2018

    The Best Form of Donation

    kwietnia 28, 2018
    • It is important to donate at least 3 percent of what we earn - says Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. In this article he further talks about the best form of donation
  • Is Buddhism a Part of Hinduism

    kwietnia 25, 2018
    • It is often asked - Is Buddhism a part of Hinduism? Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar sheds light on the origin and similarity between the two religions

    The 5 Types of People

    kwietnia 23, 2018
    • A must read: There are 5 types of people in society - find out which type are you in this knowledge sheet by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar