A man was trying to move his sofa when it got stuck in the doorway. He decided to call his neighbour to help. A push here, a pull there, and nothing—the sofa wouldn’t budge. After trying for a long time, both were sweating and exhausted. The neighbour said, “There’s no way. I don’t think we’ll ever get it in!” The owner of the sofa gave him a perplexed look: “In?”
The above story illustrates one of the biggest problems in the world: the lack of communication.
For lack of good communication countries go to war, companies go bankrupt, nations hate other nations, religions are created, children hate their parents, couples get divorced…
Of course, this problem can’t be solved with a simple blog post. In fact, it will never be solved. It’s an evil that will always be in the world because it’s rooted in the worst sins of the human race: selfishness and pride. My humble intention is, therefore, to point out that this may be the reason behind all the failures in your life, especially in your relationships. What to do?
- Listen more than you talk
- Try to understand before trying to be understood
- Pay more attention to what people say and try to understand what they really mean (sometimes you may be talking about two different things, especially if the one talking is a woman and the one listening is a man)
- Ask questions to see if they understood you
- Don’t jump to conclusions
- Be patient and thorough when explaining things — what is very clear to you, can be very confusing to your listeners
- Don’t judge the other person
- Don’t assume your message was clear — confirm, ask for feedback
- Don’t bombard your listener with unnecessary information – say only what they need to know, not all you know
Follow this advice and you will be much more successful.
What are your funniest (or most frustrating) stories about faulty communication? Have you caught yourself trying to interpret or translate what someone said but misunderstood? Tell us! But be short… not short as in your height, but short as in your comment below. Just making sure… 🙂
