If a communicatee is at all interested in understanding a communicator and the communicatee misunderstands something the communicator communicates, it is almost always the fault of the communicator.
I need to communicate better.
Video of 14 year old Jimmy Page in 1957: I watched “It Might Get Loud” last night and part of it featured this 53 year old video clip. Don’t miss the interview a couple minutes in where Jimmy says he wants to do biological research when he grows up. As for the movie, it was pretty good, if you’re a fan of the three guitarists. I personally didn’t think The Edge added much, but I’m not a huge U2 fan either. Jack White and Page, however, were great.
How to Swear in English, if You’re Korean: “Little children and pregnant women should not watch, because it will be bad for their education.” Gets funnier every time I watch it.
Saturday Night Live: China Cold Open — I don’t watch SNL much anymore but this week’s (repeat) opening skit on U.S./China relations was hilarious. I love the translator.
Trent’s site is really nice. The single-blog-post index is an interesting touch. Make sure to click “Prev” to peruse some of Trent’s other posts.
How to make a Lost Cat poster if you’re a graphic designer and you don’t like doing free work for people. (via jimray)
“Apple of My Eye”: A short movie, filmed and edited entirely on an iPhone. Beautiful stuff. (via gruber)
Write some letters on a piece of paper, upload it via webcam, and this site will turn it into a font. Very slick. If I didn’t have deplorable handwriting, I would try it. (via Cameron)
This is one of the best investigative sports articles I’ve ever read. Really, really fascinating. If you care at all about college football, you must read it. Two really interesting things I learned: Colorado really screwed themselves, and ESPN pretty much screwed the Pac-10.
We just launched msnbc.com’s new photoblog today. It’s pretty hot and it’s not even full featured yet. Peep it.
If I ever decide to write an iPhone app, this will be the first book I buy. (via gruber)
The Battery Flashlight: Pretty cool. I can’t think of another example of a product where the battery is actually part of the user interface.
“What is the level of technology that is required to make a foam stick?” — Wham-O Moves to America (The Daily Show)
How Much Do Music Artists Earn Online? A great infographic showing how the digital distribution of music has sucked artists’ royalties almost completely dry. People have argued they were never healthy to begin with, but the difference here is major. The same is going to happen to every meatspace product that transitions to digital. The iPad isn’t going to save content royalties.
Dude with ridiculous business-card throwing skills. It’s good to know business cards still have a use. (via tan.gy)
If ever anyone had a look that screamed “potential air guitar champion”, it is Rob Weychert. Watch him tear it up in the 2010 Air Guitar World Championships. I am proud to say this man has slept on my couch.
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Should we dare ask what you miscommunicated?
Fair question but one I can’t answer explicitly. Because I failed to be clear about a particular matter and subsequently failed to follow up on it with further communication, others believed something I didn’t intend to convey… and that’s unfortunately my fault and something I’m going to spend the weekend beating myself up about. And then when the weekend’s over, I’ll work on getting better about it. Sorry for the obscurity.
Now why does this sound familiar?
judging by this post you need to get out a bit more!!
;o)
Eric: Yeah, totally different subjects, but same exact principle of communication as responsibility of the sender.
Emma: Unfortunately I think it means I need to get out a bit less and that I need to start overcommunicating in a much more official way. :)
I assume you meant to type “at all interested” instead of “all at.”
Or was that a trap to see if we’d catch something? Like those “and and” duplications our eyes don’t catch because they occur at the end of one line and the beginning of another?
But yeah, I’d say that we’re all in the same boat: we could all learn to
to communicate more clearly.
;-)
(Editor’s Note: Good catch. Fixed!)
I don’t agree, it takes two to communicate. The communicatee should engage in active listening (essentially repeat back what was said to clarify they understood accurately) and then the communicator can understand that the other person took it different than presented.
I think the obsessive side of your personality may be too close to the surface this week. Call a friend and go relax. You always want to do better tomorrow, but no sense beating yourself up :-)
From TMZ.com:
Mike Davidson, after a recent misunderstanding during conversation, has announced he is now married.
Let this be a lesson to all readers: miscommunication with a stranger can end in matrimony.
– false
I agree with Don that it is a two-way street. Many times, the communication process breaks down because a person hears what they want to hear rather than what was said.
Next time you’re arguing with someone, stop and ask them to repeat back what you just said. It is amazing how often they can’t or it is totally different.
People tend to fight the battle they want, rather than the one at hand. Sadly, this is common in relationships and marriage.
Basically, the fault can fall on either side.
Never drink and blog! (just kidding)
Obviously you’re not familiar with such phenomena as selective hearing, denial, or simply the refusal to listen.
Don, Matt, and leodora: You are all correct, but even given those impediments, the simple repeating of the statement shortly thereafter and the mentioning of it an a documented form (like email) can do a lot to reduce ambiguity and misunderstanding.
Have a look at my latest posting….could this be Apple’s most exciting announcement to come? If not this year, maybe next? Hope this cheers you up!
Yep, Don, Matt and leodora are all spot on.
I’m finding that I’m now putting as much as possible in writing these days, although it chews up some valuable time, it has already saved me from several potential issues that would have chewed up even more time.
If it’s in writing it’s hard to refute… If it’s verbal it’s way too easy for the communicatee to turn their perspective into fact.
Cheers.
Perhaps another course in Speech Communication is in order?
Funny, I’ve got a post closely related to this in the works…
Anyway, not having any idea what this is about, and thus making it a bit hard to communicate about – I think, with most communication it’s a two-way street with the majority of the responsibility for good communication on the sender. The receiver, or “communicatee” has to make some effort to understand, but once that is done, I agree with Mike here, miscommunication usually falls on the shoulders of the one doing the communicating.
If you take the time to express yourself well, explain things in detail, clear up ambiguities, etc. you’ll start to see that people understand you more. When it comes to business I find that over communication is a safe bet. Make sure people get what you’re saying, don’t leave any room out there for failed communication and you’ll be ok most of the time.
A favorite quote I’ve been using more and more often:
(although I’ve been replacing “explain something” in place of “write”)
Don’t write merely to be understood. Write so that you cannot possibly be misunderstood. – Robert Louis Stevenson