I love the Abbott and Costello comedy skit – Who’s on First. If you have not seen it, then you must stop what you are doing and watch it. If you have seen it already, then it never gets old. (For those that are not familiar with the sport of baseball, think of baseball like cricket with players in many positions trying to get the batter out.)
Last week I spoke about Levels of Communication and I mentioned the importance of getting in sync. People who have worked with me would have heard me say, ‘Are we in sync?’ (something I learned from my Bridgewater days). This was done to ensure that what I am communicating is heard and understood in the way I am actually thinking, and vice-versa. There have been so many times when I say ‘go left’ but I meant to say ‘go right’ or I say go right but it is understood as going left. This happens for many reasons. Sometimes I will speak faster then what I am thinking and miss out on pertinent content. It can also happen because at times we hear what we want to hear or we are not speaking with clarity. Or just simply, we are overwhelmed and it is easy to be out of sync. Bottom line, we all have varied ways of communicating and listening.
My ‘are we in sync’ question is not to look and change how one communicates or listens, but to ensure that at that moment in time, we are each understood. The more one does this, the more we understand each other, because we are constantly learning how we communicate and listen.
This Abbott and Costello skit shows you in a funny way, some of the conversations I have had where we were just not in sync … enjoy!!
thought for the week 
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