Oops! Did I Say That?

There's nothing like having a young child to make you vividly aware of what you say.  I'll admit that I have a tendency to communicate with and comment about other drivers when I'm behind the wheel.  My communications are generally gestures to allow them to enter my lane, ask them if I may enter theirs or thank them for allowing me to move to their lane  My comments, which they never hear, are not always as friendly, generally questioning their motive or intellect, when they've cut me off or nearly caused an accident.  I was not conscious of my venting comments until I heard them repeated from Julia's car seat behind me, "Idiot! Jerk!" 

We don't always have a feedback mechanism that's as direct as Julia provided me, so we need to be self-aware of the messages we are conveying.  Positive, supportive, helpful, instructive, motivating and empathetic are the patterns I choose to find in my communications.  Julia's backseat color commentary from so many years ago provides my reminder that others are listening.

Filters

We all filter information based upon our knowledge and experiences.  When we are relaying information from a presentation to others, we often cull the information that we already know and only share new findings or current status.  Because we all view the world so differently, this filtered information may or may not be helpful to others.  Our view of the world can prevent us from seeing the world as others do.  Just as we check the lint filter in the dryer with each use, we should check our own information filters frequently.