Did you hear me say what I think I said?

We tend to like to see things as black and white, night and day, wrong and right. But there is an entire spectrum of perception between two absolutes. And given that, is it wrong to think that a story you’ve told – or the positioning statement, the speaking notes, the message points – could be misunderstood?

We like to think that we are in control of our messages. We like to think that, when we say something, the person we are communicating with hears and understands every nuance of our message. But it is very rarely the case. And if you have children, you know that it is almost never the case.

So given the gulf between what you’ve said and what the person you are communicating with understood you to say – what are you to do?

Simple. Ask.

Ask for feedback. Ask for a response. Ask the other person to repeat what he or she has heard. I think this is why consumer generated content (a term I dislike, but I don’t have another handy) is so powerful for marketers. This is the metric for our work. This is how we truly learn whether the communication that we have so thoughtfully crafted actually contains shared understanding.

So, leave me a comment and let me know whether you understand what I’m saying.