TOW#606 — Did you think to!?!
How many times have you found yourself in a situation where you’ve had to ‘read’ someone?
How many times have you been misunderstood by the person you’re talking to?
“Did you think to get me something sweet?”, asked my brother the other day.
“I didn’t think of it. Had you called me and told me, I would’ve”, I replied.
Personally, I don’t remember things for others around me — if they don’t tell me clearly, I don’t manage to (or don’t want to!?) ‘read’ what someone’s thinking. For me it’s like, how shall I put this… a waste of time. Looking for a needle in a haystack. And I’ll explain why:
According to Wikipedia, we humans are the only surviving member of the genus Homo, a family of great apes. Nevertheless, it says “people are uniquely adapted to using communication systems for self-expression, exchange of ideas and organisation. Social interaction between people has created a vast number of values, social norms and rituals that together form the basis of human society.”
Well, now that we’ve gotten this far, why go back?
Try as much as you can, every day, every moment, with everyone around you without exception to use clear messages!
Sending a clear message, i.e. one that’s easily understood by the interlocutor, is the ‘cure’ for every misunderstanding:
• Simplify what you want to say;
• Speak clearly and concretely;
• Adjust to the interlocutor’s vocabulary, for example, you can’t speak to a child bureaucratically;
• Pay attention to the tone with which you speak;
• Does what you’re saying make sense? Listen to yourself as you speak;
• Make sure the other party understands you;
• Involve the interlocutor in the communication;
• Ask questions of the interlocutor to make sure they understand you;
• Respect the interlocutor;
• Listen to (understand) what the other party is saying.
Think, how many life situations would’ve turned out differently if you’d spoken more clearly? How many misunderstandings have you had because you simply weren’t clear enough in what you wanted to say?
Change that now! You’ll see how good you’ll feel when you’re ‘in the clear’ with everyone, and above all with yourself.
Remember Romeo and Juliet? Imagine if they had just told each other what they were intending to do! 😊
Wishing you success with the changes to come,
Elena Martinovska
Member of the Team
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