Miscommunication

I just literally thought I would write about this because it is something I struggle with on and off.  Sometimes it is me misunderstanding people or vice versa.

You might or might not know that I have a comparatively rare genetic condition that causes me to often mishear things.  And other times it can make sounds like tinnitus in my ears so that I can’t actually hear properly, either.  Fortunately, Kevin has always been able to reset the ear pods connected to my ipad or phone and make me be able to hear more clearly when they both get really bad.

But it’s not necessarily just miscommunication in the sense that you don’t hear something correctly.  Sometimes words are used in a different way to how you are used to using them.  For example, in the US instead of calling the bag you carry with everything in a handbag (as we would do in the UK) they call it a purse.  Now, of course, in the UK, the purse is the receptacle we use to carry the money inside our handbags.

When I first moved up to Scotland, Kevin and I were on the phone and he was telling me that he was clapping his cat Sootica. So I asked him what she did to deserve it and he was astonished and in a confused way said “nothing.  I’m just clapping her.”  Fortunately for my sanity, he finally realised that I was thinking about applause whereas HE was thinking about stroking his cat because she was lying next to him.

Miscommunication can be had in many ways….even sometimes in writing the author can mean one thing while the reader imagines something else.  And it pays to be clear in writing (when you can) so that the reader understands what you mean.

If you think something sounds weird, stop and ask the person and I am sure they will tell you what they actually said or meant.

TREASURE

I can always ask the person who is talking or vice versa if something just doesn’t make sense because there’s always a reason why.