Think before you speak?
“I am only responsible for what I say, not what you hear” I have been seeing this saying doing the rounds for the past few months and cannot help myself but comment on its validity. At first I thought that the saying was ingenious because it makes clear that I am only responsible for my “meaning” as per my words deliver and not any one else’s perception of my words. Great, what a liberating feeling. I deliver my words and now it’s your problem to figure out what to do with the information. Nothing could be further from the truth! While speaking I am the one trying to get across an idea and in order to do so I need to choose my words and delivery thereof carefully, so that I have the best chance of helping you understand what I am trying to communicate. I have since found the aforementioned saying to be a lazy excuse for poor communication skills. To be fair, I know that feelings have a large impact on the saying as it does not purely relate to straightforward communicatio