Good morning, World!  It’s Friday!

It’s 4 am, the light goes on and I hear
“Honey, are you ready to get it on?”…

Not that many years ago, I’d be sound asleep at 4 in the morning and hearing something like that would either prompt me to think I’m dreaming or would quickly wake me up and command my full attention.

Today, 4 is about the time I answer Mother Nature’s call and sadly, I know that my lovely wife is referring to the anti-anxiety garment (Thunder Shirt) the dog needs put on to keep it from freaking out and keeping both of us awake with the passing thunder storm.
[sigh]

What a delicate balance there is to communicating effectively and efficiently. The proper choice of words to achieve full understanding is critical. If you drone on and on to clarify your point, you’ll likely lose even the most interested person. Your audience has a collective attention span that may be quite low (if it exists at all) and pays more attention to body language and tone of voice – so how do you capture and keep someone’s attention?

I’d start with
*content
*clarity
*compassionate tone

How do you know whether they comprehended what you said?

One of the first rules I’ve learned is to ask them to repeat it back in their own words. It will seem awkward and cumbersome at first but the practice may save both parties frustration (or embarrassment).

Now, you can go back to sleep since the dog has been taken care of.

…huh?

Have a blessed weekend.