Friday February 28, 2014 #605
“I know that you believe that you understood what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”
~Robert McCloskey
Ah – the challenges of human to human communication! Whether our communication is verbal, or in writing, what we say is rarely fully understood as intended. A colleague recently related the story of giving a carefully scripted presentation to his team. After finishing, he asked each of them what they heard. It took until the 5th or 6th person, for someone to repeat back the salient points of the presentation. Two points here: First, we must realize that despite our best effort, most of what we say is misinterpreted to some degree or even unheard. Second, it is a mark of a strong leader to seek to ensure his message is understood. Only then can we know if and how we must clarify our communication to ensure understanding.