By the Way... "Are You Listening to Me?"

The little plaque in the store caught my eye. It read: "I know you believe you understand what you think I said... But I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant!" You may want to read that again. It illustrates a common pitfall of communication. When my son was a toddler, he touched a hot stove and burned his fingers. His concerned mother told him, "If you had listened to me, you wouldn't have gotten burned." What did she mean by, "If you had listened..."? Of course he heard his mom tell him not to touch the stove. But it was obvious the words he "heard" simply didn't register. The burn quickly taught him the importance of listening to, and heeding, Mother's warnings.

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