Clarity in Our Communications

I slid into a hot bath last night and pulled Judo Moreo's latest book, You Are More Than Enough Every Woman's Guide to Purpose, Passion & Power off the corner of the tub and found my place (marked securely with the attached blue satin bookmark).

I read the words "Powerful Communication" and stopped. Communication is something I've always struggled with. I think that's part of why I'm a writer--it gives me time to compile my thoughts instead of trying to scramble them together with people surrounding me, waiting for an answer.

Judi shared the eight realities about communication that exist at any given time.

* What I mean to say
* What I actually do say
* What you heard me say
* What you thought you heard me say
* What you mean to say
* What you actually do say
* What I heard you say
* What I thought I heard you say

I thought about these realities for several minutes and then I started reading again to see how I could apply what Judi had to say about powerful communication to my life.

But, then I had another thought--the first four realities also apply to our writing.

When I sit down and create a story, I can see the picture of it clearly in my head. I know what I mean when I write those words. I know what I am implying through the actions of my characters. I know what message I want to send to the reader.

But often times, what I have written and how the reader interprets it, are two different things. I usually discover this during a critique when a comment comes back and I think, "That's not what I meant at all."

When we sit down to write, it is important to remember the realities of communication and to strive for clarity so what we say on paper is the same as what the reader sees in his head, because we are not standing in front of the reader to explain what we meant.