When I was a child we used to play a game called broken telephone Or some called it just the telephone game.  It was an educational exercise geared to demonstrate how easily verbal communication can go off the rail.

It’s a simple exercise where a group of five or ten people whisper a word or phrase to each other down a chain.  The original information (the word or message) rarely (probably never) survives intact to the end of the chain.

The last person states what was passed to them and everyone has a good laugh.  For example start with lock and don’t be surprised to see it morph through several whispers as clock,block, rock , and finally emerge as possibly love (where did that come from).

The confusion grows with the use of phrases ,for example try ” Two tiny toads ate flat flying flies.”

The point

This exercise  clearly show how small misconceptions can end up making a huge difference.  It is  a fun way to highlight the  importance of active listening.

Most importantly though it shows just how hard it is to share information accurately.  The last person in the game thinks they are replicating the information, it was just the simple sharing of a word or phrase, after all.

Don’t be fooled

You may be positive your information share was clear, however, more often than not this is not true.  Don’t assume the meaning of your message (communication, information share) is interpreted the way you understand it.

There are many techniques associated with good and effective communications but the most important one is restating.  When you have finished communicating, ask the other party to repeat the message.  Don’t be surprised at how often this leads to the need for clarification.