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Home / Leadership / Communication / Missing the Communication Target
Missing the Communication Target

Missing the Communication Target

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Jul 23, 2015 By Bob Burg

I’ll never forget when an early business mentor told me, “Burg, when the shooter misses the target…it ain’t the target’s fault.”

The older I get, and the more I study influence and communication, the more correct I believe he was.

How often do we try and get our point across but fail? It seemed that “what (s)he thought I said isn’t what I meant.” Or even, “what (s)he thought I meant isn’t what I said.”

Whose “fault” is this misunderstanding? Who is to “blame?”

I believe the answer is . . . “it doesn’t matter.” In my opinion, fault and blame are both irrelevant.

Related Article: 5 Steps to Building a Culture of Communication

On the other hand, if we were to ask whose “responsibility” it was for the message not being received as intended, I’d say it is the sender’s.

Yes, the onus is on the communicator to ensure their message is understood.

When the late, Dr. Stephen R. Covey, in his classic, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People suggested (in Habit #5) that we “Seek first to understand, then to be understood,” he was certainly right on the mark. Doing so is vitally important in the communication process.

Both parts are important. Here, however, we are referring to the second part of that Habit.

You were not understood. Your message missed the mark. It did not hit its intended target.

If that’s the case, first, take responsibility for it. Then, look at why it happened and how to more effectively communicate that message next time.

Nine times out of ten, the major reason was that two different belief systems—yours and theirs—were at work in some way, confusing the issue.

And saying nine times out of ten is probably underestimating the cause by about nine tenths!

Key Point: Be sure that what you said and meant…is what they heard and understood. How? Ask enough clarifying questions to be sure.

The anguish it will save is well-worth those few extra moments.

Filed Under: Communication Tagged With: Bob Burg, Clarity, Communication

Source: Bob Burg

Bob Burg

Bob Burg

Bob Burg shares information on topics vital to the success of today's business person. He speaks for Fortune 500 companies, franchises, and numerous direct sales organizations. Bob’s audiences range from 50 to 16,000, and he shares the platform with today's top thought leaders, broadcast personalities, Olympic athletes and political leaders including a former United States President. He is the author of the widely-read Endless Referrals, and the WSJ best-selling business parable, The Go-Giver (coauthored with John David Mann). Bob’s newest book is Adversaries Into Allies, which draws on his own experiences and the stories of other influential people.

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