Intentions – A Poem That Came to Me While Cleaning

July 21, 2010 by Guy Harris
Filed under Communication Skills, Gallery, Resolving Conflict

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I don’t know why this came to mind, but it did.

I was helping my wife clean our living room, and I was, as I often am, thinking about what I could write here. I was not thinking about my wife, my kids, or my professional colleagues.

I was just thinking. (Remember, I am a recovering engineer. I am almost always “thinking.”)

I started thinking about how we often misinterpret other people’s meaning, and this little rhyme popped (almost) fully formed into my mind.

So, I share it here with you today:

I’ll never know your real intent,
Until I ask you what you meant.
And, if you choose, in your reply,
To then, tell me the reason why.

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Tags: conflict escalation, conversations, effective communication skills, intention, judgement, Leadership Skills, miscommunication, perception, Resolving Conflict, understanding people

Comments

2 Responses to “Intentions – A Poem That Came to Me While Cleaning”

Dale Suslick says:

July 22, 2010 at 9:53 pm

Profound! Not only do you need to ask they need to be willing to share.

A wise man told me simple. Not easy.

Reply
- Guy Harris says:
  
  July 23, 2010 at 10:10 am
  
  Hi Dale,
  
  Thanks for stopping by my blog.
  
  I’m glad the thought that people have to choose to share came through in my little rhyme. The whole interacting with others thing can get pretty difficult, even if the concepts are simple to say. Simple but not easy is a really big concept.
  
  Thanks also for the kind words.
  
  Reply