How do you talk to someone so the other person will listen and understand? How do you listen to someone else so they know you are interested and are following what they say? And, when you say something, how do you know if you have been heard and understood?

These are all points about communication that have never before been carefully looked into and explained.

People have known that communication is an important part of life, but until now no one has ever been able to successfully tell anyone how to communicate.

Before Scientology, the subject of communication had not been given its correct importance or put into a course that could be studied to get the full results—an ability to communicate well. Many books and articles that were written about communication did not look at the subject as a vital or necessary part of life or show how it is used in relationships with others. They talked about communication as if it was something done by a machine. But all life depends on knowing and understanding the basics, the most important and beginning parts of communication.

To be able to really communicate with anyone and do so very well, you must understand the subject fully.

In Scientology, the exact meaning of communication has been worked out, tested and proven for more than half a century. It has led to a much deeper understanding of life itself.

There is a very simple way of saying what communication means: communication is the shift (or movement) of a particle from one part of space to another part of space. A particle is the thing being communicated. It can be an object, a written message, a spoken word or an idea.

For example, if you took a baseball and threw it to someone to catch, that would be a communication from you to the other person. If you said “hello” to someone, that too would be a communication, exactly following the meaning above. If someone sent you an e-mail, that would also be a communication.

Taking this simple statement about communication one step further, there is a full and exact formula (a particular method or procedure of doing or being successful in something) of communication that was carefully worked out and recorded by L. Ron Hubbard. It is most important that you know and understand the Communication Formula so you can use it with success.

To do so, first look over the meaning of the following words so you get a full and clear understanding of how they are used in the formula given below.

Cause is the point from which something happens or starts. If you say something to another person, you are being cause.

Distance is the space that exists between two points. For example, the distance between two people might be a few feet. The distance between two towns could be hundreds of miles.

Effect is the point that receives something. If you say something to another person, you are being cause and the other person is being effect. If the other person then says something to you, he is being cause and you are the effect point.

Intention is an idea that you are going to do something. For example, if you have a strong intention to become an artist, that is what results in you becoming one. In any communication, you must have an intention to send a message to someone to make it happen.

Attention is being aware of something, looking at or noticing. If you call somebody by his name, it is usually to get his attention. To communicate to another successfully, you need to get his attention.

Duplication is the action of repeating or making a copy of something. If you talk to a man and tell him about a cat and he gets the idea you are talking about a dog, that is not duplication. If he understands you are talking about a cat and gets that idea, he has a duplication of what you are saying. In any communication, it is important that the other person gets a duplication of what you are saying.

Understanding is the power or ability to understand, which means to have a clear and correct idea or a full and exact knowledge of what something means. You must bring about an understanding of what you are saying whenever you communicate.

The Communication Formula is cause, distance, effect, with intention, attention and duplication with understanding.

This is exactly what needs to happen in any communication for it to be successful.

Let us take an example of this formula in a casual conversation between two people. A man looks at the beautiful day and decides to tell his wife, Mabel, that he thinks it is a great day.

He starts the communication (he is being cause) and speaks loudly enough for the message to travel from his mouth to the ears of Mabel, who sits next to him (distance).

He really wants to let Mabel know that he thinks it is a great day (intention). He starts the communication by saying Mabel’s name to get her attention (“Wow, Mabel … ”).

He then describes the scene he sees so she gets a duplication of what he sees and the way he feels (“What a beautiful day. Just look at that sunrise. It is gorgeous!”).

Mabel receives the communication, looks at the sunrise and gets an understanding of what is being communicated.

The Communication Formula opens the door to understanding the whole subject.

By breaking down communication into its exact parts, you can see how each part fits together and can more clearly understand the whole subject. And with the increased understanding, you can improve any part of the formula and use it to improve your communication with others.