‘’A picture is worth a thousand words’’

What if the picture is completely blank… can you still understand what it is communicating???

Can you relate this to your child or your student who can draw but still keeps his/her paper blank or a child who can speak but is not able to express or chooses to keep quite?

Think about it!!!   

We generally talk about improving communication skills. This is one of the top skills required to be successful in the 21^st century. What about the other person’s capability to understand communication? Effective communication is not always about being a great orator and having the confidence to address, engage the audience, but it is also how deeply you can get connected with your audience or how effectively you communicate your simple thoughts so others can understand. If you try to recall your arguments with people at home or at your workplace…. most of the time it gets triggered due to miscommunication (for instance with your spouse or mother in law J). You must have tried saying something…the other person understands something else … or they say something and you misunderstand!!!

Emotional awareness is important… not only to communicate your thoughts but also to understand other’s feelings!!!

When I ask parents whether they communicate with their child, everyone says “of course!” On asking what do they communicate??? The standard answers by parents are following set of questions  “what did you do today in school? Did you eat your Tiffin? Did you complete your homework today?” And so on…

 This is the new age communication… more like inquiry ….a formal investigation! Today we all communicate very well on whatsapp and other social media but in real life we are disconnected even with ourselves.

Have you ever tried communicating with yourself??? What kind of self communication do you practice? If you can’t communicate with yourself… how will you communicate with others??? If you don’t understand yourself… others can never understand you!!!

If you provide Art opportunities in a right way at an early age to your children… you can definitely improve their communication and understanding skills. If we study our human evolution prehistoric man used to communicate through symbols and art before speech and language communication.

Cave paintings:-Proof of communication

The oldest known cave paintings are over 40,000 years’ age even before history of religions. Cave or rock paintings have been found in Europe, Africa, Australia & Southeast Asia.

The oldest known figurative painting, a depiction of a bull, was discovered in the Lubang Jeriji Saleh cave dated over 40,000 years ago perhaps as old as 52,000 years.

An archaeological treasure of India , 30,000 years old Bhimbetka cave paintings in Madhya Pradesh has around 243 rock shelters. The paintings found here have a striking resemblance to the ones discovered in Kakadu National Park in Australia:to the cave paintings of Bushmen in Kalahari Desert and Upper Paleolithic Lascaux cave paintings in France. Lascaux caves near the village of Montignac in France depicting aurochs, horses and deer. 

The Paleolithic cave paintings of bisons from the Altamira cave, Cantabria, Spain painted 20,000 years ago. These cave paintings are communicating people’s environment, lifestyle, their challenges, fears & achievements. We still find similar situations in tribal art.

You can try some activities to improve your communication skills as well as understanding communication skills inspired by cave art & tribal art where importance is given on the communication with simple line drawings . It can be done in a classroom situation as well as at home to improve communication between you and your child.

Draw some simple stick figures and ask your child to identify them .Then ask your child to draw something and you try to understand it. Eventually start drawing slightly complex things where there are two figures or other objects. Ask your child to create a situation about that composition. Discuss emotions, feelings associated with those situations. Don’t worry about your child’s or your drawing skills. Nobody is going to give you marks or remarks. I assure you… your drawings will be as good as those cave paintings J  This is your time with your child to make her/him sensitive towards situations, surroundings and society. Enjoy the moments with your kids away from any electronic gadgets. You may name this activity as ART Dumb Charades.

Picasso said “every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up’’. The same applies to the communication. You have to strike a right deal of communication with your kids to ensure communication as they grow up. The same applies to any other personal and professional relationships.

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 Stay tuned with any form of art… you will find your childhood again ….empowered with Art of Understanding Communication!