“What is your life’s philosophy?”
A friend of mine asked me that when I was preparing to defend my doctoral dissertation: “Wireless Power Transfer For Space Applications: System Design and the electromagnetic compatibility of Radiated Emissions”.
I told him “What?!?, What are you talking about? I’m studying electrical engineering, not philosophy”
He reminded me, “you asked me to tell you what possible questions you may get during your dissertation defense, well… I got that question for my dissertation defense in Biology”
He made me think. At first, I thought it was an interesting way to spark a conversation, or some sort of clever drinking game (we were having a few beers at the time). Either way, I was up to the challenge.
Here we go…
My electrical engineering dissertation consisted of transmitting electrical power without cables.
The way you can do that, without been physically attached (i.e. connector), is by tuning to the same frequency the power source circuit (transmitter) and the load circuit (receiver). This concept is known as magnetic resonance.
The other peculiarity about resonance is that the magnetic signal bounces back and forth between the source circuit and the load circuit to have a more efficient transfer of power. This is analogous to two identical tuning fork that by hitting one and getting it close to the other one, the other tuning fork starts to vibrate due to resonance.
After a deep thought, I mentioned to my friend “ you know what, I got it. This concept of resonance is very relevant to many situations. In particular communication with others”
It is true, to communicate effectively with others we need to deliver the message in a way that resonates with the recipient. We need to take into account not only the cleverness of the message but how it will be received.
We all do this, in some way, unconsciously. When we have to tell someone that there is a danger ahead (i.e. bees in the backyard), we tell them in a different tone depending on the information recipient. If it’s a friend we say “hey man, watch out for the bees”. If it’s a toddler we say “careful with the bees outside, they can make you a big boo boo” LOL
Funny and true…
So now that I know that as a fact, I try to be more intentional about it. Before any crucial conversation, I try to think of the person (or google it) to get to know what the person values, how they communicate and how he/she use to express him/herself.
By adapting my message to emphasize on the things this person considers important, the conversation turns to be more meaningful. Or at least have some proactive preparation for the conversation.
Therefore, resonance in communication, relationships, and team coordination/leadership is my philosophy in life.
