Said and heard

Said. Heard. There may be a gulf in between.

I've been thinking a lot about communication lately. How what is said is not necessarily the same as what is heard. We all bring our own filters, our own experience, habits, hang-ups. Knowing the person you are talking to well can help you to spot when something has been misheard/misunderstood. And to know when a subject might be touchy so you can be careful how things are worded.

But even knowing them well is not a guarantee of understanding.

So how much more careful do we need to be with people we don't know well.

If there is something you need to communicate, get the person to repeat back to you what they understood from your conversation, just to make sure you're both on the same page.