Page 124 - Today’s Business Communication; A How-to Guide for the Modern Professional

WhY MUST I kNOW hOW TO INFLUENCE AND PERSUADE OThERS? 113

In the foreword for this book we made you a promise. We assured you
that we weren’t going to tell you that your current business communication
is all wrong. We hope, however, that this book helps you learn how to
improve your business communication and how important it is to make
steady incremental progress in your growth as a business communicator.
Many of us learn best through the use of metaphors and allegories. Con-
sequently, what follows relies on metaphors and allegories to make clear
our points about your growth as a business communicator.
One of us has run a marathon and the other taught yoga for a few
years. We believe that you can take important lessons about business com-
munication from our extracurricular activities. To complete a marathon, a
runner must train for months—gradually increasing the distance traveled
as well as the ability to push through discomfort. A marathon is allegori-
cal to your progress toward the goal of exceptional business communica-
tion: it is a long-term commitment requiring a great deal of practice and
preparation. Yoga practitioners understand that the mind and body are
interconnected, and that the strengths and weaknesses of both must be
recognized and respected. Yoga practice is allegorical to exceptional busi-
ness communication in that both require us to recognize our strengths
and weaknesses, positives and negatives, and to view our practice as a
continuous journey toward something better, rather than a destination of
perfection at which we arrive and remain.