Catching a Frisbee

The other day I came across an interesting question: Why are dogs better at catching a Frisbee than people? The act itself is fairly complex unlike, say, catching a baseball that comes straight at you. All one has to do in that case is stand still and catch it. In the case of a Frisbee, however, the object moves in an arc. The one on the receiving end has to calculate where it is going to land and then rush to that spot to snatch it before it hits the ground. As humans are supposed to be smarter than dogs, it would seem we should be able to do a better job of making this calculation, thus be more skilled at catching Frisbees. Alas, not so.

I raised this question with a friend. (Both of us found discussing it much easier than the prospect of actually trying to catch a Frisbee.) We came to the conclusion that going back to their beginning days when dogs had to hunt to survive, they learned to anticipate the travels of prey so as to improve their chances of making the capture. This instinct remains within them to this very today. Who knows if we are right? But at least the explanation that my friend and I came up with satisfied us. (One quick aside, while dogs may be better at catching Frisbees, we humans are better at throwing them.)

How does this relate to communication? Frisbee-catching involves anticipation, paying close attention to the trajectory and speed of the tossed object. Successful communication also calls for attention or active listening. By listening well, one is better able to anticipate the path of a message. By doing this, they can more effectively intellectually position themselves to hear what is being put forth with much greater understanding and appreciation. This also enables the receiver to be better able to send back an appropriate and relevant response. When it comes to Frisbees, dogs, generally, could be viewed as being better "listeners" than us. Humans, however, have the capacity to become better at this skill - as well as remain tops when it comes to interacting with others - by continuing to exercise our listening muscles.