Misunderstandings

Misunderstandings happen all the time, often because we either don’t communicate clearly or we don’t understand the other perspective.

It can be easy to beat around the bush because we’re afraid of hurting people’s feelings and then we lose the point of our message.

Here are some things you can try:

• Use simple language.
• Try to stay focused on the topic at hand.
• Say less. Speak one or two sentences at at time and then allow the other person to respond.
• Speak from your perspective using ‘I’ statements.
• Reflect or summarise the other perspective to find out if you’ve understood them correctly.
• Be aware of how you’re feeling because emotions influence how we interpret information and events.
• Be aware of your tone and body language. We communicate through more than just our words.

There is no secret solution but what will help is consistent clear communication from your own perspective which takes into account how you’re feeling and how you receive information.