Communication is such a field where when you work with it, you see how hard it can be, but when you don’t, then you probably also don’t understand what’s the big deal. We all communicate with each other in different ways from the day we are born and mostly get by okay. But is okay good enough? Would life be easier if we did it better? I think there’s room for improvements.
It might sound harsh but I think there are so many bad communicators and each channel adds its own benefits and problems on top.
Speaking from my own perspective, I can sometimes express myself very fast without longer period of pondering over how I say something. And I sometimes end up regretting the rushing. Mostly however I analyze thoroughly what and how I say/write and why. Also how others might perceive it after though this is where you live and you learn and still can be surprised at how something could have been misunderstood.
I believe it is a question of respect to do your best to respond to reasonable requests as quickly as you can, evaluating its priority too of course. And I think it is important to try to answer all questions as accurately as possible while remaining polite and if possible, then also explaining the reasons behind my requests and actions. Yet, sometimes I feel like I am alone with my principles.
It happens way more often than I would like that I get an answer very late or after several reminders, if at all. Also, that there is an answer but it doesn’t correspond to my questions. Or perhaps it answers one of five and ignores the rest.
Sometimes it feels like me and my communication partner are talking about completely different things. They might tell me something else interesting or important but I am forced to ask again if I still need answers or I need to accept that I might never get them.
I’d like to think that people are mostly nice and such miscommunication happens due to bad circumstances. That the other party of the conversation happened to be in a big rush and just missed some questions. It could also be that they didn’t have the answers but for some reason didn’t want to tell that to me either. But it could also be that the other party just doesn’t care. That they only push their own agenda and ignore everything else, unless they see there concrete immediate benefit.
Clear communication is in theory such a simple thing – prioritize key messages, use good arguments and keep it concise. Why are there so many communication problems then!? And what happened to treat others like you want to be treated?
I myself feel like I have my better and worse writing days. Some days text just flows. Others, I try to avoid communicating important things or at least leave myself time to polish my draft material afterwards.
It would be nice to hear if you feel the same way but also if you don’t then what am I missing from the complete picture?