We find it difficult to see the seen and hear the said around us. It may be difficult to “see the unseen” and “hear the unsaid” in life. The perceptive people around us do that. They are able to see the unseen and the hear the unsaid.

Psychologists tell us that more than seventy percent of our communication is non-verbal and only thirty percent is verbal. If this is even partly true, then we communicate more by the unsaid and the unseen. It may be worthwhile to then focus on the unsaid and unseen in life.

Have we observed a child communicate to her mother ? The child communicates more through actions than words. A mother is able to hear the unsaid and see the unseen. A mother knows when a child is hungry and when the nappy has to be changed even if the child does not speak nor the nappy is seen.

If this is believable fact of life, then why are we ignorant of the same. Either we are not observant enough or our mind wanders around and we do not focus on what we need to. We can learn from our parents if not anyone else around us. Our mothers can teach us more on listening to the unsaid and seeing the unseen.

Life is no different. It is our ability to see the unseen and hear the unsaid which makes us smarter than the majority of people around us. Let us examine this from the perspective of the workplace. If as a leader, we are able to sense the unsaid words of the team members and see the unseen actions of them, we may be admired as a leader.

A leader does not only see and hear from his own eyes or ears. He ensures that he listens and observes through the eyes and ears of all his team members. So, if we are in touch with everyone around us in our team and other teams, we may see and hear what we are not able to see or hear ourselves.

Another interesting learning is from the field of sports. captains may communicate more through their actions than their words. Sometimes the absence of a captain may communicate more than their presence. It is this ability to inspire even in your absence , which makes one a great leader.

We may learn from our teachers more by what they do than what they say. Sometimes the lessons of our teachers are vivid in our mind even when they are not around ,since they have embeded their life lessons in our hearts. Such is the power of the ability of gurus who teach ,not necessarily by what they say or do ,but more by what they make us learn even if they don’t say anything or show anything to us.

Our parents, teachers and leaders make us believe that it is worthwhile to learn the art of hearing the unsaid and see the unseen. They inspire us not only by their words and actions. They teach us by their absence and their silence too.

Let us learn to ‘hear the unsaid’ and ‘see the unseen’ and learn from both from today.

S Ramesh Shankar

7th May 2023