Clear Chanel

Where am I today?  We all evaluate our actions and the reasoning behind them.  I do, a lot.  Before the radio show I ask myself "what idea or feeling do I want people to walk away with?"  After the show I ask "did I communicate that point and make it clear?"  Did I convey my highest thought and if not why not?  Was the point one that everyone could understand even if they didn't care?  Believe it or not, this dialog is constant for me, especially on the radio.  Yes, I live in the present and doing so means that I accept my actions in that moment, however that does not stop the reflection process that follows.  

When I first began college majoring in philosophy I thought it was something special to use big words that tied up a thought nicely into a neat bundle placing it before my listeners.  Then one day someone said to me that the measure of intelligence is not how well you can confound your audience, its how well you can make them understand.  Anything short of that is pedantry.  I try, probably failing sometimes,  to make ideas so clear that the simplest mind can understand.  After all, what is the point of talking if you are not understood?  Inherent in the definition of Communication is understanding.  Using words and phrases that your listener cannot comprehend, is equivalent to speaking a different language.  He may pick up on your emotions, but not your ideas.

Now, we can make our ideas crystal clear in our own minds that does not mean they will be received that way.  We each have experiences or opinions that color our ability to hear without prejudice.  Certain words or thoughts may trigger associations to other ideas that have little to do with the situation at hand.  For example, in a past relationship whenever we had a disagreement or my feelings were hurt I would automatically go into the communication "model" known as reflection.  He would talk and then I would stop him and say "so what I hear you saying is . . "  we were both amazed at how poorly we understood one another.  I don't know that all women draw the conclusion that when a man says "my mother did it this way, or my ex did it that way .." that a comparison is being made, I did.  In my mind I heard a judgment be it good, bad or indifferent.  Using the reflective model I found that he was actually trying to justify eating all my vegetables that he told me he didn't like.  He thought hated vegetables, until he tried mine. 

I love to read books or listen to people who challenge me expand my mind, but this is not true for everyone.  Confounding your listener can often leave them feeling alienated or intellectually inadequate.  If the purpose is to communicate, then we must do so with the thought of sharing in mind.  Whenever possible, pay attention to who you are talking to making sure you are speaking to them and for them, not just for yourself.  That's my thought for today.  I hope you got it!