Beware of Over-Confidence

Over-confidence can be a real killer (not so much in the literal sense, of course, but in that it can get in the way of success or achieving one's goals). We enter into a situation with no doubt that simply going through the motions will be enough to secure the result we wish. Such often happens when it comes to communication. "All I need to do is state my piece and whatever concerns or questions others might have will vanish," we tend to think. I have certainly been guilty of this and my guess is others have, too. After all, we are on-board with our perspective and  assume the power of it will easily sway others.

Such an attitude reminds me of the famous poem, "Casey at the Bat," written in 1888 by Ernest Lawrence Thayer. Casey was the star of his team - a great slugger as recognized by all. Despite the fact his team was down by a few runs, his coming to bat with runners on base in the last inning filled everyone with delight as they knew Casey would come through as he had so often done in the past. No one was more confident then Casey himself. As he strode to the plate, the cheers and laughter from the crowd fed into his unshakeable certainty. After all, as described by Thayer, he was
"the mighty Casey."      

As we all know, Casey strikes out. It turns out the other side had a perspective that not only did not agree with Casey's, but it turned out to be more convincing. In fairness to Casey, none of us achieve or goals every time at bat. We, too, strike-out or at least fail to hit the home run that we assumed we would hit. This points to a key reality of communication: nothing should be taken for granted. Effective communicating involves preparation that includes looking at and understanding other perspectives. It involves appreciation the fact that not all communication efforts are successful. Consequently, none should be taken lightly.