Don't assume

You could be hearing what wasn't said

You could speak to a room full of people: the same words, the same tone; yet, if you asked each person, in isolation, to tell you what they understood, you’re likely to get multiple interpretations.

This is normal, and that’s because, as people: we don’t simply listen to words with our ears — we listen with biases, beliefs and assumptions mixed in.

For the listener: when in doubt, ask.

This is simple, yet quite hard for many of us — myself included.

We should definitely still make attempts to not allow assumptions, or our biases and beliefs override objective truth.