Last month, I wrote a blog on saying it clearly. Today I write about the other side of that coin.
I was reading the newspaper this morning, and was confused by a headline. It said – Monsoon showers in Mumbai tomorrow?
I realized what looked like one question, were actually two different questions. And I wasn’t sure which one the headline was alluding to.
- When it rains in Mumbai tomorrow, will it be a monsoon shower or a pre-monsoon one? Because just yesterday I was reading how pre-monsoon is here and monsoon is far off.
- Will monsoon hit Mumbai tomorrow or make us wait for a few more days?
There was a third and a fourth question, but never mind. The clouds parted and things became clear almost as soon as I began to read the article. It explained that monsoon was quite close to Mumbai, which meant that the headline was question 2.
But it left me wondering. If the headline in a leading newspaper can be unclear, where does it leave the rest of us? I like to believe that it leaves us in the pursuit of being clear. Clarity is something you aspire to, and keep working towards. But even as you improve and get closer and closer to it, you are occasionally going to stumble.
Even with the best of intentions, a lot of us are not going to be clear in what we say or understand. There are going to be things that we misunderstand. The question is, what can we do about it. I’d like to believe that the answer lies in helping each other out.
Ask more questions. Don’t accept a statement at its face value. Especially the one that seems crystal clear. Poke and prod to see if it is indeed what you think it is. Because, listening has two parts – what you heard, and what you understood. And they are not always the same.
The best way to bridge this gap is to clarify. Take what you heard, rephrase it, and say it back. It helps to word it as a yes or no question, because it leaves no room for doubt.
So, the next time you hear a new requirement from a client, ask yourself, “Is this clear.” And, irrespective of what you think, ask a few questions. Make sure that it is really clear. And only then, move on to work on it. You will find it definitely better than hearing, “That’s not what I said”, six months down the line.
