Creating Clarity in Communication

By Marcia Sirota MD

It’s so easy to have problems with communication. Often, we hear things wrong; maybe because there’s too much ambient noise obscuring the words of the speaker, or maybe because what the other person is saying is overshadowed by what we expect to hear.

We interpret what we’re hearing through the filters of our past experiences, belief systems and habitual patterns of interaction. All these psychological processes can significantly interfere with our ability to communicate, even more than being physically hard of hearing.

At the root of the word “communicate” is the concept of communing, or coming together. The essence of communication is the intention to come together: to know and to be known; to understand and be understood.

When we truly want clarity in communication, we must choose to leave our expectations, beliefs, attitudes and habits at the door and truly listen...