I wrote this because I had a dream last night

Etiquette has been a subject whose lack of appreciation in literature I have found most shocking. It is a wonderful thing to understand and use to make people feel comfortable in any situation, but most articles on the subject that I have read are observations, designed to allay a single issue. This essay is a procedural guide.

Respect is all you need to communicate. any protocol, any language, any country, any time, any place, any person, you will manage. Respect is empathy carefully carried out within the context of everything you know about another person. Respect starts with a premise, that the degrees of similarity between all parties and the importance of interaction based on those similarities is worth the work required to make it. Only worry about your own end here, it is not respectful to assume another party is not benefiting as much as yourself from your communication. Without respect, you have no premise with which to base dialogue and can only assume that asymmetrical communication is occurring.

Verbal communication, grunts, whistles, honks, beeps and hums are your oral arsenal. When another person can hear you and you can hear them you are communicating aurally. However, to communicate verbally, you need to say something that they understand and mean it. Mean what you say, say what you mean, be lucid and uncompromising in speaking your mind. Self editing to improve understanding of an audience is a good thing, but self editing to avoid offending an audience is a bad thing. Be certain they need to be offended before you do, but do so if the information you are offering requires it. If they are offended by what you say, you have said it earnestly in the spirit of communication, do not apologize for offending someone if you meant what you said. Instead explain why you said it and what you hoped to convey in saying it. Above all else, be honest, the universe is confusing enough a place without people saying what they do not believe to be true muddying the water.

Physical interaction, using our bodies to communicate, it's a powerful tool if you know how to use it, and since it is always being used, some study of it comes highly recommended. Know yourself, know what mood you are in, how you are feeling, whether the topic of conversation interests you, if you are hungry, thirsty, fatigued or tired. Know that you are communicating any discomfort you may feel to other people via your body language. Learn how you act and react when different things happen. Because you are communicating without speaking, you won't have to discuss your own or other people's bodies as separate things, this leads to an idea of intimacy and trust that is easily shared. This brings us to touch, touching puts people into a feedback loop where nerves and reactions can be monitored by either party. Different cultures put different emphasis on the importance of touch as it is a close and intimate means of communication, representing balanced forms of communication such as empathy, respect and love. As with all powerful means of communication, if unwanted they are confronting. Care should always be taken in ensuring that some prior interaction via talking or eye contact precedes touch.

With these procedural approaches in mind, your ability to interact with other beings will improve. I hope this has illuminated someone as to my understanding of the nature of communication, if you understand that is good, if you don't, that is better, contact me immediately!

The naked mole rat lives in a eusociety, humans might, but I doubt it.