understanding communication

I used to take communication for granted. I talk, you talk, we talk. We’re both speaking English, so naturally we’re understanding each other all the time. You get me, I get you, we communicate.

It was only when I learned about effective communication that I really understood how very poor my communication skills had previously been!

We may be speaking the same general language, but I’m speaking Kyeli and you’re speaking You. My definitions for words might be similar or vastly different from yours. My style of communication may be similar or vastly different. My perceptions of your style of communication may be spot on or way off.

And that’s not the end of it! There are so many places where communication can fall apart, it’s a miracle we ever get our points across at all!

Now that I’ve spent years studying communication and learning about it, sometimes I figure I’ve got it all down. It’s usually about that time when I make some huge mistake and hurt Pace’s feelings or trample on one of her landmines and we start miscommunicating. It’s fun to be an expert, because now we can usually recognize what’s happening and start repairing before much damage is done.

I hope to teach everyone what we’ve learned, so we can fill the world with communication experts!

Related posts:
• Book Bonanza Wednesday! Chapter 19: Meta-communication

Have you read our book, The Usual Error? It teaches you how to solve communication issues with compassion and understanding, how to get rid of needless conflict from your life, how to make your relationships smoother, and how to generally be happier. Also, the illustrations are super cool. (: You can buy it on Amazon or read it for free online.