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The Importance of Effective Communication

Col. Chris Hadfield  |   | 
 
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Most people’s blind spot is in the mirror. You think you’re projecting a certain idea, you are think you are communicating a certain way, you think that what you’ve said is dead clear because it was clear in your own mind, but if you could just be the mirror or the retina or the eardrums of the person that was on the other end of it, you may well see that you didn’t communicate clearly what you meant and you haven’t reinforced the key ideas of what is necessary nor have you then repeated the process enough so that people can clearly get it in their minds where we’re all headed together.

I think as a leader, not only do you need to monitor what your people are doing and the overall efficiency of where you’re headed, but constantly think about communication, both ways, and the words that are coming out of your mouth.

It’s especially true if the people that you are leading are even slightly culturally different than you are, which is almost always the case. Someone who grew up with a different language, a different religion, or even in a different city will use the same word as you, but for a different meaning. You can drop into such pitfalls and traps and get yourself caught in a blind spot that you weren’t expecting. So make sure that you’re constantly looking and checking into how you’re expressing yourself and checking back with the people that are receiving the message so that you know for sure they understood the words that come out of your mouth and then repeat.

What Did You Think?