"Out Front"

Not long ago my wife and a friend of hers were talking on the phone and made plans to get together for lunch. My wife told the friend that she would meet her "out front." The friend, in response, said she that would be fine as she would be "out front" waiting. No problem, right? The time came for my wife to go meet her friend. She went to leave our house to pick up her friend at the friend's house only to open the door to find her friend waiting outside our house. My wife had the understanding that she would be picking up her friend at the friend's house. The friend had the understanding she was to come to our house.

This miscue was no big deal as everything worked out fine. The two had a nice laugh at the misunderstanding and then proceeded to have a nice time together. Both persons, I should note, are as nice as they are smart. Their conversation was very much on friendly terms, yet despite that they got their signals crossed. In making their plans, my wife knew what she meant and her friend knew what she meant. But the two did not know what the other meant. Each assumed what they were communicating was quite clear. Each was wrong. Fortunately, this scenario was quite innocent but imagine if something of great consequence had been at stake.

This incident illustrates just how complex communication can often be and how easily actions can be misdirected simply because people do not make the effort of ensuring mutual understanding. This kind of every day mishap happens to all of us. While one could argue it adds to the charm of being human, others - like me - could respond while being human certainly does have its advantages, it also means each of us needs to do a better job of ensuring what we are saying is clear and that what we are hearing corresponds what the sender of their message is trying to say. Even in everyday situations, without question communication is a challenge.