Communication Skills
Goal Setting
King Midas wished that everything he touched would turn to gold. His wish was granted, but with unintended consequences. Everything he touched including flowers, food and even his daughter turned to gold. As King Midas discovered, it is important to think carefully before setting a goal.
A good goal has two essential characteristics - it must be beneficial and practical. To ensure the first, you must consider all the consequences of achieving your goal - something King Midas failed to do. To ensure the second, you must consider whether your goal is in conflict with other interests. If it conflicts with your other interests, you will have internal conflict and poor motivation. If it conflicts with the interests of other people, you will face external conflict. Sometimes conflict is unavoidable, but success depends on minimizing and managing that conflict.
Exploring the art of goal setting is a key part of communication training as it underlies all the other techniques. If you have vague or ill-considered goals, the outcome is likely to be unsatisfactory. A well-designed goal, however, makes your task much simpler.