I read somewhere that no matter how detailed your communication, no matter how perfectly you explain something, the other person will still understand it only through the lens of their own experiences and capability.
And honestly? That hit home.
Whether you’re talking to a colleague, explaining something to a junior, or even trying to clarify a point to someone more senior — you could be giving the most articulate, carefully thought-out explanation in the world. But the receiver still interprets it through their own filters. Their past experiences. Their mental framework. Their baggage. Their assumptions.
It’s like you’re speaking in Mandarin, and they’re trying to understand in English. Sure, there might be a few overlapping words — but most of it gets reinterpreted or lost in translation. And then you wonder why they completely missed the point.
That’s where real communication skills come in.
It’s not about how well you speak. It’s about how well they understand.
A few things helped me (and I’m still learning, trust me). First, I started asking people to repeat what they understood. Not to cross-check them — but to check my delivery. Sometimes I realized I had assumed too much. Or skipped over what I thought were “obvious” steps. Other times, I had given too much detail when only a simple summary was needed.
It’s like thermal loss in a system — your message loses heat (and meaning) during transmission. And unless you account for that — you’ll keep wondering why your clear message resulted in confused actions.
You might tell someone: “Take a left, and then a right.”
But the person is stuck wondering: “When do I start turning right? Immediately? After how much distance?”
Simple things. But they add up.
I’m nowhere close to being a perfect communicator. I’ve failed plenty of times, especially when I assumed my version of clarity matched the other person’s understanding. But I’ve made a decision — to keep learning, keep observing, and keep tweaking how I speak, depending on who I’m speaking to.
Because the smoother this becomes, the easier life flows.
So here’s a simple reminder to myself, and maybe to you too:
Next time you’re explaining something, pause and ask — How is the other person hearing this?
Don’t just talk. Translate.
Not into different languages. But into different minds.
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