Understanding Communication

For many people, a misunderstanding can be traumatic, with loss of temper and bad humour for a considerable time or simply loss of time, effort and energy all of which are valuable resources.

Communication can be the problem.

 

Communication is a two way process between the person who emits and the person who receives.

Apart from problems of not hearing the actual words, which may be either poor speech or difficulty in actually hearing, there is also comprehension.

A case in point might by a line Manager who asks a Team Member to find someone by his or her first name. The person then locates the correct named person, but not the one the line Manager was thinking of.

The line Manager's perception of the name is clearly different from the Team Member's understanding.

Being clear of what one means is not enough.

One needs to ascertain whether communication is received in the manner in which it was intended and at the same time obtain an honest response.

Often a simple question can help on the part of the line Manager or a statement from the Team Member can ensure proper communication.