Day 282 -- talking, listening, communicating

Ever wonder why it can be so difficult to get your message across clearly to someone else? If you have a suggestion or a complaint, does the other person become defensive before you have a chance to complete your thought calmly?  Interesting that humans can be such poor listeners <smile>. I will admit to sitting on both sides of the suggestion-defensive fence and to jumping ahead to what I think someone is saying before they finish. Generally this happens on days when I am stressed, tired or just too busy to take the time to listen. I need to remind myself to breathe and let people talk, even if it is difficult to follow or something I don't really want to hear. However, if I am prepared for a potential confrontational communication, it can be a bit easier to breathe and listen and then to calmly request if I can respond to the comments. This seems to work in most situations -- unless someone is so upset they aren't even hearing themselves any more.

Many of the problems we encounter could benefit from improved communications -- clear well-thought through messages paired with patient active listening will help many situations. Sadly, many conversations are fraught with anxiety and other negative emotions that colour the speech and hearing of any message. Add to that the individual impacts of a crazed world and it is a wonder that we are able to communicate at all. Perhaps this is the attraction of using electronic communications -- firing off messages in a bubble without ever having to interact or see reactions of others. A quote attributed to George Bernard Shaw sums this up wonderfully -- "The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place."

The selection for today often comes to mind when I think about important communications that need to occur. It doesn't refer to only 'me' but also to the others with whom I interact. We are all in the process together. <smile>  Enjoy!

We can Work it Out -- The Beatles