There is a story in Arabic which tells of a pupil asking a wise man how he could become a good conversationalist.

The sage replied, "listen, my son."

After waiting a while, the pupil said, "I am listening."

"Please continue your instruction." The sage smiled.

"There is no more to tell."

• as told by Ali Karakus, Turkish Exchange Student in America

Communication connection between mentor and mentee is critical for a relationship to develop and a mentee to grow into a powerful leader.

Far too often a communication exchange leaves two people with two different understandings of what was said and what is to be done. It is these miscommunications that can lead to a breakdown in communication connections.

Consider this simple five-step communication connection model that is used in executive coaching and in a therapy session between doctor and client to ensure an effective systematic

communication connection in business. With your mentee and your mentor, communicate one step at a time and ensure buy-in at each level before you expect to progress onward through to the fifth step in an effective communication connection.

Step One – establish a will to buy-in or even enroll into a conversation on the subject matter you are putting forth. If the other party is unwilling to acknowledge and buy-into that subject matter, there will be no communication connection. In essence seek permission to connect and ensure the other party is willing to connect before expecting to proceed.

Step Two – make a connection of the subject matter being raised to the other person’s vested interest level. In essence, make the connection to what they say they are all about …their identity and purpose should be connected to the subject.

Step Three – jointly discuss the varied choices that the mentee is willing to make to ensure that that which they are enrolling into materializes.

Step Four – from this range of choices that can be made to execute the enrolled issue, for a successful communication connection to materialize there must be at least two action items, which the mentee will commit to!

Step Five – in order for any communication connection to really take place, both parties need to clearly discuss and agree to precisely how to hold all parties accountable to this connection plan of five steps. In essence how will you know objectively if you are on track, off track, ahead of schedule or behind schedule?

Investing valuable time with another person to grow and develop them can be quickly sabotaged if the parties cannot connect communicatively. Studies reveal that one of the leading contributors to organizational dis-functionality rests at the door of ineffective communication among individuals.

Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they would like to say something.

Plato