Today's Tuesday quick thought it about communication.
Read the following phrases:
'I rode a black horse in red pajamas.'
'He fed her cat food.'
How did you interpret each? Did you see at least 2 ways to interpret those phrases? In the first, either the person or the horse could have been wearing pajamas, and in the second the person could have fed 'her' cat food, or given food to 'her' cat.
It's a fun little exercise, and shows how quickly our brain puts pieces together. My guess is you had a 'natural', immune response. 'Of course it was the person wearing the pajamas - horses don't wear pajamas!' - which is a perfectly reasonable response derived from experience and logic.
We make assumptions quickly, aided by our biases and mental filters. The issue is that this ambiguity exists in all communication between people, and sometimes it leads to unintended negative consequences. Productivity, accuracy, and relationships can all suffer from something as simple as that.
It is important to remember that not everyone processes information or communicates with the habits and patterns that you do. And even so, it is very easy for miscommunication to happen due to distractions or differing interpretations.
Take a temperature check on your communication. Does your company seem to be dropping a lot of balls on this front? Are people having conflict with their managers or supervisors? Are people confused about their roles and tasks, leading to diminished productivity? If so, it's time to get a communication tune up.
That is something we can help with, so connect with us today.
And that's your Tuesday quick thought.