
A dangerous curve in an icy road. It's a metaphor for risky communications in which the risk arises from the content of the communication. The vehicle is the communicator and the road is the message.
In Part 1 of this exploration, I described three communication antipatterns that can arise independent of what we intend to communicate. In this Part 2, I describe antipatterns that arise, in part, because of the attributes of what we're communicating.
As in the previous posts in this series, I use the name Eugene (E for Expressing) when I'm referring to the person expressing an idea, asking a question, or in some other way contributing new material to an exchange. And I use the name Rachel (R for Receiving) when I'm referring to someone who's Receiving Eugene's communication.
With that prolog, here are three antipatterns that increase the risk of miscommunication.
- Second language/culture effects
- Even though all discussion participants are speaking the same language, for some participants, that language is their native language, while for others, it's a second language (or third, or …) acquired later in life. Miscommunications can arise when using the later-acquired language to convey culture-specific concepts. So, for example, if Eugene is speaking his first language, and Rachel her second, it's easy to imagine the difficulties that can arise. Even easier: Both are speaking the same later-acquired language.
- An analogous risk pertains to cultural factors. If the matter at hand has cultural components, a participant who hails from a different culture might understand the contributions of others in a way that differs from the way they were intended.
- For example, the word jurors in the sentence, "Jurors decide who is guilty" can become judge when used (or heard) by someone unfamiliar with the notion of jury trials. [Pavlenko 2017]
- The game of telephone
- The game Telephone is a globally popular game for children. Players arrange themselves in a chain or line. The player at one end of the chain whispers a message to the next player in the chain, who then passes it along to the next, and so on. For chains of five or more, the message received at the end of the chain can be strikingly different from the original message. The contrast can be very entertaining.
- At work, this effect is far from entertaining, because we depend on faithful replication at each link of the chain. Distortion is more likely to appear when complex or technical information is passed from one person to the next. When groups converse under time pressure, distortions are introduced and they can lead to miscommunications.
- Anger and hostility are afoot
- Under time pressure, or pressure of any kind, we can experience stress. And stress can lead to anger. [Babiak & Hare 2010] When participants become angry, their ability to understand each other — or even to think clearly — can become impaired. [Miller 2023]
- An ability to If the matter at hand has cultural components, a
participant who hails from a different culture might
understand the contributions of others in a way
that differs from the way they were intendednotice anger early is helpful in mitigating the risk of undesirable outcomes when we communicate under time pressure. Early notice of anger begins with awareness of time pressure. When we know we're under time pressure, we can be alert to the onset of anger. - Political consequences
- In some instances, Eugene might be aware that certain contributions to a conversation might have political consequences. For example, questioning the credibility of a report might be equivalent to questioning the credibility of the author of the report.
- Political sensitivity can affect the content of communications. For example, Eugene might be aware that political consequences of certain comments could be significant and unwelcome. He might tend to withhold those comments. Or he might tend to slant them so as to limit their unwelcome effects. When this happens, Eugene might be unaware of the full effects of the adjustments. Unintended distortions are possible.
Last words
In Part III of this exploration we describe antipatterns that arise from contextual factors. First issue in this series
Next issue in this series
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Related articles
More articles on Effective Communication at Work:
Responding to Rumors
- Have you ever heard nasty rumors about yourself? When rumors are damaging, they can hurt our careers,
our self-esteem, and even our health. Sadly, our response to rumors often compounds the serious damage
they do.
The True Costs of Indirectness
- Indirect communications are veiled, ambiguous, excessively diplomatic, or conveyed to people other than
the actual target. We often use indirectness to avoid confrontation or to avoid dealing with conflict.
It can be an expensive practice.
Bemused Detachment
- Much of the difficulty between people at work is avoidable if only we can find ways to slow down our
responses to each other. When we hurry, we react without thinking. Here's a suggestion for increasing
comity by slowing down.
On Facilitation Suggestions from Meeting Participants
- Team leaders often facilitate their own meetings, and although there are problems associated with that
dual role, it's so familiar that it works well enough, most of the time. Less widely understood are
the problems that arise when other meeting participants make facilitation suggestions.
Reframing Hurtful Dismissiveness
- Targets of dismissive remarks often feel that their concerns are being judged as unimportant, which
can be painful when their concerns are real. But there is an alternative to pain. It requires a little
skill and discipline, but it can work.
See also Effective Communication at Work for more related articles.
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