I used to think that communication meant talking.
For someone who majored in communication and thinks she's pretty smart, well, I'm not. It hit me like a ton of bricks just tonight. Communication is about understanding. I can talk all I want, until my tongue drops off if I like, but unless I can get the other person to understand what I'm trying to say (and not just what, but how and why) the conversation is not accomplishing its purpose.
I realized tonight, as Stephen and I were talking, that we were on two completely different pages (possibly chapters). I was frustrated, he was confused and we were getting nowhere fast. I was about to repeat myself for the third time when I realized that I simply wasn't communicating my thoughts. He was hearing, but for whatever reason he wasn't understanding and vice versa.
We sorted it out (we always do) but it made me think about the way I talk to people. Sometimes I try to make myself understood and sometimes I take for granted that they think the way I do.
Interesting, huh?
'Quel
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