It is an honour for me to have been given the designation Master Communicator (MC) by my Canadian peers in the International Association of Business Communicators. Last year, I served as the chair of the selection committee and this year – my last for a bit – I have served as past chair. The nominations supporting the candidates for this award are humbling and reading them can make me feel like an imposter.
What is common to all those who have been awarded the designation is that they are all willing to share their knowledge, give of their time and contribute their expertise. I think the reason for this is that those who are indeed masters of anything have a passion for what they do.
Masters don’t share their knowledge to show-off. They do so because they want others to be as excited about their subject as they are. Think about a teacher you may have had who ignited your interest in a subject. I have been lucky throughout my life to have had several masters who have been willing to guide me to learn or follow a special talent or interest.
Masters share their knowledge because they want others to be as excited about their subject as they are. Click To TweetWhen this year’s Master Communicators are announced, people won’t question their worthiness for the award, they will say, “of course”! The people who will be surprised by the award will be its recipients because they didn’t do what they did for glory, they were just “doing their job” and “following their passion”.
Here’s my challenge to you – reach out to the people who have been your masters. Tell them what a difference they made in your life. They may not know how much they gave you or how much you appreciated their gift of knowledge.