Did You Really Hear What I Said?

How often are we guilty of assuming that once we've said something, others heard what we conveyed?  Many misunderstandings are the result of one person speaking and another hearing something totally different than the message which was conveyed.  Distraction, pronunciation, background noise and hearing impairment are common causes of message distortion.  When it's critical that our message is received as intended, we must check for understanding.