miscommunication

It amazes me how we can misinterpret or misread one another.

One thing that I have tried to hone and implement in my own life is the ability to communicate effectively with people. Communication has not really been a problem for me...I tend to say whatever is on my mind. What has been a problem is the way I say things...I tend to say whatever is on my mind without thinking. And so it has been a conscious struggle – a struggle that I manage with quite fine 95% of the time. I am human, and I do slip up now and again (like my epic meltdown last week), but for the most part, I am glad that it is something that I am consciously aware of and try always to control it.

I think that there are two essential skills that you need to acquire so that you may be able to communicate effectively.

One, obviously, is that you need to be able to articulate what you want to say. With the invention of cell phones and the internet, I dare say people are losing the ability to talk to one another properly.

The second thing, and what is in my estimation more important than number 1, is having the ability to listen. How many times to we talk to each other, practically shout one another’s ear drums broken, but do we really listen to what the other person is saying?? So many times, I have said the wrong thing because I wasn’t listening to what the other person was actually trying to tell me. So many times I’ve been verbally abused because the other person didn’t bother to listen to what I was saying.

Miscommunication can be avoided if we take the time to listen...and if we pause to reflect.