If someone does not understand what you are saying, repeating it louder or making it more complicated may only dig the hole deeper.
Communication is not finished when the words leave you. It is finished when the intended message reaches the other person.
They are out there.
People who complicate things—and why they do so may be worthy of a study.
It is wise to approach this subject before you are forced to. However, complications also teach well when they are laid upon a person who must either rise to meet them or be run over by them.
The “keep it simple” people often wonder about those lost-in-their-mind folks.
SAY WHAT YOU MEAN
For someone who does not know what they are talking about, making the subject complicated can become convenient.
If someone does not “get” what you are saying or doing, it may not be their processing bank that should first come into question.
It may be yours.
Here is why.
RISE TO THE OCCASION
It is the responsibility of the communicator to communicate.
The sender has the responsibility to transmit the message clearly and effectively—to make the intended point.
Only then does accountability begin shifting toward the listener.
Trying to shift that responsibility before making yourself understandable turns someone into a great double-talker—and digs a deeper hole.
CONSIDER THIS EXAMPLE
When I was in my fifties, I took a college marketing class.
We were required to buy an expensive book, and the professor used it to teach the course.
The book was all intellect, with little actual field experience. To complicate matters further, the professor admitted that he had never worked in marketing and had not previously taught the subject.
REPEAT AFTER ME?
I sat in that class listening to the subject being taught and reading a book that could not hit the ground running or make practical sense.
I wondered how younger students—many experiencing college and marketing for the first time—could make sense of it.
They couldn’t.
They simply repeated what had been read and said—and received a grade for repeating it.
LET US REASON TOGETHER
I turned in a marketing-report assignment and received a low grade.
I challenged the professor.
He admitted that he graded according to the book and curriculum because he had no practical experience with the course or subject.
I then demonstrated the marketing principle through real-world reasoning.
He changed my grade.
CONNECTION
He did not merely give me an A.
He gave me an A++ and said he appreciated what I had done.
What did I do?
I took a complicated subject and explained it at approximately a sixth-grade level.
That approach allowed the hearer to process the information personally, giving the listener a stake in understanding it.
SIMPLE IS AS SIMPLE DOES
That is what simplicity does.
It joins and binds us together as equals without unnecessary effort.
When people understand and participate together, they become more powerful, and their combined efforts begin producing results.
Simplicity rules this.
Keeping it simple invites everyone to participate.
CAUSE AND EFFECT
I have seen unnecessary complications in tests, quizzes, applications, and instructions of all kinds.
The familiar “deer in the headlights” expression is triggered not necessarily because people cannot understand.
Sometimes what is being shared remains so distant, technical, or poorly explained that people cannot relate to it—even when they try.
That is the cause.
The effect is the deer-in-the-headlights outcome.
TRY THIS ON
Consider a complicated contract.
It can immediately challenge your ability to understand, join, or support the agreement because it confronts rather than assures.
Complex contracts may eventually require professional interpretation when disputed.
But how does that help the ordinary person trying to understand what is being agreed to?
HONOR RULED FIRST
Reverse-engineer the contract dynamic and follow it back to its origins.
In its birthing concept, it was simply two people agreeing and then carrying out the agreement.
A handshake sealed the deal, and a person’s word was considered sacred.
If someone breached that agreement, the surrounding community would know.
That was called honor.
I AGREE—BUT TO WHAT?
People responsible for directing and leading others sometimes choose intellect for the job instead of heart.
Repeating something over and over that another person cannot relate to does not invite that person into the process.
It does not encourage people to contribute their gifts and talents.
Instead, they may simply go along and hope for the best.
MAKE IT INTERESTING
A person who speaks from the heart first—and becomes technical when needed—may fare much better as a leader and results person.
That is one reason humor, enjoyment, and bonding should be put to work when teaching a course or instructing a team.
Make the connection first.
The rest can follow.
FEAR OF RIDICULE?
Stop and consider how many people are left behind because they did not understand what was being told, offered, or explained—even when it was placed in writing.
Consequently, they simply go along.
Some people speak up but are quickly put down for doing so.
The risk of asking became too great, so they went along to get along.
POINT OF VIEW
Time and patience create a good anti-complication defense against mental assault and paralysis.
People and organizations often do not take the time—or possess the tools—to approach a subject from several points of view until the needed point becomes clear.
That is the real work.
That is the challenge.
INVEST IN PEOPLE
Clear communication is a form of investment.
Take the necessary time with your employee, client, child, associate, student, or friend.
Approach the subject from different directions until the message being sent is genuinely received.
That connection can be extremely rewarding.
Why?
Because it promotes a type of intimacy—and intimacy is precious.
REPEATING SOMETHING TO PRODUCE A DIFFERENT RESULT?
We will never eliminate every complication. Some are necessary and serve a legitimate purpose.
What we can do is recognize unnecessary complication when we see it and use a different method or approach to produce a more favorable outcome.
That thwarts the familiar definition of insanity quite nicely.
FINAL THOUGHT
Do not measure communication solely by what you said.
Measure it by what the other person reasonably understood.
Clear communication does not talk down to people. It opens the door and invites them inside.
PEARLS INSIGHT (SEO)
Effective communication requires clear language, active listening, patience, and a willingness to explain an idea from more than one point of view.
Leaders, educators, parents, and businesses improve understanding when they simplify complicated information without removing its essential meaning. Communication becomes successful when the intended message is accurately received—not merely transmitted.
PEARLS FROM THE BOOKS
Simplicity does not weaken an important message.
It removes what prevents the message from reaching the heart and mind of another person.
PEARLS CONNECTION
Before deciding that someone “just doesn’t get it,” ask:
Did I make the message relatable?
Did I explain it in language the listener could use?
Did I create enough safety for the person to admit confusion?
RICHIE SPEAKS
If your listener has that deer-in-the-headlights look, don’t blame the deer!
Slow down. Change the language. Use an example. Add a little humor and approach the matter from another direction.
It is the communicator’s job to communicate.
FINAL SAY
Say what you mean.
Make the connection.
Keep it simple enough for people to participate.
Then listen long enough to discover whether your message actually arrived.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
Website: https://pearlsforthesoul.com
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