Mixed Messages Create Frustration
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Mixed Messages Create Frustration
How often have you asked someone to do something only to find that you have mixed messages and the task is not carried out as you wanted? What happens then? In a lot of instances people get really annoyed and as time progresses anger grows to the stage of frustration and sometimes a verbal response causes more problems.
If you are not getting the outcome you have asked for, you may need to look at how you are communicating your message. You should look at:
· The tone of your voice
· The words you use
· The clarity of your message
· Do you use open or closed questions?
· Do you generate a flow of conversation?
If you are not using some or all of those techniques then you may find that you have not giving enough information for the respondent to carry out the task.
Use these words which start open questions as they will generate a flow of conversation which will allow both sides to gain more clarity in the task.
Which……?
What…….?
Where…..?
When……?
Who……..?
How……..?
As unique individuals you will interpret an event differently to another person even if you both see the same scene. Take a car crash. You could have five people witness the event, but all five people may give a different account of what they saw happen. This is because we delete, distort and generalise what we see. Our beliefs and values determine our interpretation of an event.
It is imperative that when we ask someone to do something we keep asking questions and gaining clarity, to make sure that the other person really understands what they are being asked. A great tip is to keep asking them “What will you do first, and what next, or how will you be doing that” until you know that they have fully grasped what it is that you want them to do.
Getting clarity will avoid misunderstandings and miscommunication. No one sets out to do the wrong thing and in some cases it can be a very costly mistake.
To ask quality questions and get total clarity is a key component of effective communication; do this every single day and notice the difference in how people react to you as a result, because this will affect how you embrace interaction with others.
©Your Destiny Unfolds with
Vicki & Rodney Williams,
