“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.“
-George Bernard Shaw
As a teacher, I struggle with a very simple problem. All too often, my students don’t seem to hear, understand or remember what I tell them. They are smart kids and good students, but sometimes it doesn’t seem to matter how many times I explain it to them, how simple I try to make it, or how many different ways I present it. It just doesn’t register. I may have said it, but if no learning has taken place, then I can’t really say I taught it.
That’s also the fundamental problem facing all presenters and speakers. We tend to operate under the illusion that a presentation or speech was successful if we clearly and accurately said what we intended to say, but the effect we have on our audience often depends not on how well we said something but on how prepared they were to hear it.
Sometimes, our audience simply doesn’t know enough to understand or appreciate what we are telling them. Sometimes, their own biases, blind spots and preconceptions prevent them from hearing us or distort our message into something completely different from what we intended to convey. Sometimes, they are preoccupied, tired or just in a foul mood. Sometimes, they just don’t like us or what we’re selling, and we’re always selling something when we speak.
It’s not enough, when you speak, to say what you meant to say. You also have to pay attention to your audience and confirm that they heard what you said, understood what it meant and processed its implications.
Only then can you say you successfully communicated.
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