Do you ever think about the way we communicate with one another? The way we talk and assumptions we make about how we will be understood by others.

A few years ago, I spent a couple of weeks in Japan, and of all of the different places I visited and things I experienced while I was in Japan, the most memorable by far was my day in Disneyland Tokyo. It was my last day in Japan, and all of my friends had already returned home so I was completely by myself in Tokyo.

Why was this day so memorable for me? Well, I have to say, I had never experienced anything quite like my day at Disney. From my hotel lobby to the ticket booth at Disney to the people in line with me at Space Mountain, I was the lone English speaker as far as I know. All day long, I continually but unsuccessfully tried to communicate with people. Never before had I experienced something like this.

Nobody spoke English. All day. Have you ever spent an entire day somewhere, surrounded by lots (and lots) of people and not heard one word of English? I had not. And I haven’t since. It’s a weird feeling.

But I learned something interesting that day. Since it was pretty challenging to navigate throughout my day without being able to communicate through the spoken word, I had to find other ways to engage people. I had to do a lot of pointing and drawing pictures to help people understand what I needed and wanted that day.

Learning different ways to communicate is a valuable lesson and skill. I had to be on my toes. I had to be creative. And I really think it forced me to be more aware of everything around me.

You may be really great at engaging others. Maybe not. I don’t know. But it probably wouldn’t hurt to take a look at the way you communicate. Is it possible that you have become so use to speaking to people in the way that you have always spoken to them, that you actually might be a little like me trying to speak English in the middle of Disneyland Tokyo? Maybe you need to find some creative ways to reach your customers or clients. Let the High Road Agency help you explore some new ways to “speak.”