“Confusion and ambiguity kills; clarity keeps us safe.” Anonymous

How many times have you given instructions only to have an outcome not at all what you thought it would be?  For instance, you are driving down the road and are told to “make a right at the third intersection”.  Sounds clear – except if you are passing through the intersection at the time.  Do you count that intersection as the first one, or count the next one as the first?

Perhaps ‘kill’ is a drastic word … ambiguity causes rework, which costs money.  Ambiguity creates misunderstandings and conflict … which costs not only hard dollars, but can damage relationships.

How methodically do you think through your actions, and the consequences of those actions?  If your success, or the success of your company relies heavily on clarity and safety, take the few extra moments to communicate exactly what you need.

Tags: break-out sessions, communication, conflict resolution, listening, NBAA, public speaking, S&D, Schedulers and Dispatchers

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 20th, 2010 at 9:44 am and is filed under Aviation Posts, communication, human factors, intention, interpretation, leadership, listening. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.