Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Non verbal clues

I need to pay more attention to non-verbal clues when interpreting meaning. None of these are new concepts but to put my mind to work at consciously interpreting their meaning is a relatively new concept. I am starting to see the benefit of actually working at communication instead of just letting it happen. I'm starting to see how all the aspects of communication work together instead of just an ocean of stuff.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Understanding

The other day Angel and I were leaving mom's house and discussing dinner. She wanted Krystals and I didn't. I was driving and so I went to the drive through at Krystals. After getting the food, Angel reminded me that Krystals is not as good when you take it home.

Bottom line: This is a great example of my selective perceptions and how the book talks about meaning and experience which all led to bypassing. Our experience had taught us that Krystals are just better when fresh but I wanted to get home so I perceived that her goal was the same.

I understood her words but I did not understand her meaning. "Getting dinner at Krystals" meant two different things to two different people. People were speaking but communication was not happening. Deciding what the sender means before deciding on an interpretation is something I need to work on.