Communication is Hard

Communication is Hard

A few years ago, during a job interview, I opened up to the interviewer about my struggles with communication. I wasn't expecting anything in return—I simply wanted to be honest.

He looked at me for a few seconds and then said something that has stayed with me ever since.

"Communication isn't just English."

I've thought about that sentence many times since.

Communication is one of the richest words in English because it brings together ideas from language, psychology, sociology, biology, engineering, and philosophy. Each field views communication from a different perspective, yet they all revolve around the same fundamental idea: making something common between people.

I'm not going to explore all of those perspectives here. In our daily work, we're usually talking about the core meaning of communication—not simply speaking a language, but creating shared understanding between people.

.... continuing