The essence of public service can not be achieved without an effective communication. The Director General of The Progressive Institute, TPI, Lanre Adebayo, P.hD drops this hint in Abuja during a Specialized One Day Retreat for senior staff of the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy and its counterpart in Ministry of Tourism.
Dr. Adebayo who was a guest lecturer at the event spoke on the theme: Effective communication and Collaboration for Organizational Productivity and Excellence. The TPI DG charges public servants to inculcate the use of simple, short and concise language, noting that communication has not taken place when the audience could not understand what is being said.
‘’Wherever you find yourselves, please inculcate the spirit of effective communication. Communication is vital to transmit government policies and decisions to the mass populace. If you fail to communicate effectively, your enemies will communicate what you don’t like to your audience’’, he said.
A communication expert, Adebayo added that training and retraining for public servants is very essential because it enhances productivity.
“If you want to change people, communicate to them. If you want to change the future of the society, communicate effectively. Non effective communication gives room for misconceptions and this brings about crisis while effective communication promotes inclusiveness in public service and guarantees societal peace and stability’’.
Adebayo who harps on collaboration and team work as a tool to accelerate development encourages public servants to develop themselves in research and public speaking. He urges participants at the retreat to master the spirit of listening, adding that a good speaker is a good listener.
‘’Don’t be an ignorant, study hard. Do more research, familiarize yourself with rules and regulations of government agencies such as ICPC, EFCC, Code of Conduct Bureau as well as the constitution of Nigeria. This will enable you to discharge your duty effectively without hindrance’’. Adebayo said as he engaged directors, special assistants, senior special advisers, head of agencies and parastatals of the two ministries in a lively interactive session.
