Clarity in Communication (8/7/14)

…Are we Clear?!?…Crystal.

I’m a movie buff, and there are several scenes in A Few Good Men where there is dialogue between Lt. Kaffee and Col. Jessup that revolves around the clarity of the message being expressed.

As far as communication goes the most important aspect is clarity. To prove my point I have a little game for you. I am providing you with a sentence that is repeated, and I want  you to read it out loud emphasizing the underlined word. Look at how the meaning of the sentences changes just by changing the emphasis of one word.

I didn’t say you stole my money.

I didn’t say you stole my money.

I didn’t say you stole my money.

I didn’t say you stole my money.

I didn’t say you stole my money.

I didn’t say you stole my money.

I didn’t say you stole my money.

In those seven sentences only the emphasis of one word was changed, and by doing so the meaning of the entire sentence changed. So when you are communicating your goal should be to make sure you can’t be misunderstood when you communicate.