The greatest opportunity during communication is for miscommunication.
Read that again. I know I needed to.
Somehow, in my day to day, I forget regularly that it’s up to me (as the speaker) to ensure any person (whether an audience, a family member, a client or friend) understands what I mean.
I frequently refer to this reference from NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming):
“the meaning of your communication is the response that you get.”
In other words, if your listener doesn’t “get it,” it’s up to you to ensure they do. This takes all pressure for misunderstanding off the listener and places it firmly with the speaker.
No matter how much we try, people listen through their filters of the world. Having the patience to work through where the filters are clogged is a practice.
Given the likelihood you’ll be misunderstood, own it.
You just might get what you intended.