{"id":515,"date":"2014-08-24T00:04:19","date_gmt":"2014-08-24T07:04:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imho.kileozier.com\/?p=515"},"modified":"2014-08-24T10:59:41","modified_gmt":"2014-08-24T17:59:41","slug":"cannot-be-escaped-must-be-faced-and-effectively-erased","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imho.kileozier.com\/?p=515","title":{"rendered":"Cannot be Escaped, Must be Faced and Effectively Erased\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Oblique<\/a><\/p>\n

Preparing to depart, tomorrow, for a week of immersion in a culture heretofore completely foreign to me; I have been taking care through these preceding days to carefully examine my Baggage Cart for that insidious passenger: Assumption<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It. Is. Everywhere.<\/p>\n

In the run-up to this project, where I will be working through interpreters in multiple contexts, my awareness of Assumption in daily social and professional intercourse has been even further heightened; such that I\u2019m noticing the pervasiveness in everything from dinner conversations to elevator chat.<\/p>\n

Listen.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The key to being aware of the presence of Assumption – one\u2019s own and that of colleagues, clients and others – is to Listen.<\/p>\n

Listening, acutely, to everyone at the table: hearing what is said and extrapolating what may lie behind it\u2026all the while remaining conscious of and cognizant to the fact of Assumption its ramifications to the course of conversation and the quality of decisions being made.<\/p>\n

Yes. I regularly bring this up. That is because Assumption is The One Thing, passively dismissed, that runs rampant and unidentified through most conversations between human beings of every culture; causing subtle misunderstandings that build upon one another and take processes off track without people actually noticing as it does it\u2019s evil work.<\/p>\n

It is easiest to see Assumption in what isn\u2019t<\/i> said, just before what is<\/i> said.<\/p>\n

Read that sentence, again.<\/p>\n

To discern that, one\u2019s Listening must be focused on the conversation rather than on the formation of one\u2019s own Next Statement. Truly, almost everything that comes out of our mouths is based on an assumption we make, just prior to speaking.<\/p>\n

That assumption may be about a creative process, an approach to the resolution of a previously-encountered problem, even the personal resonance of a \u201cshared\u201d experience.<\/p>\n

What do I mean by that?<\/p>\n

Few professionals would tell themselves that their methods are \u201cthe only way\u201d to accomplish a given task or project. That being said; many a time, I\u2019ve watched as misunderstandings have evolved through the use of \u201ccommon\u201d terms in conversations referencing disparate experiences. I\u2019ve watched conversations go off-track as underlying misunderstanding proceeds unidentified and people think they are making themselves clear, when the opposite may actually be the case.<\/p>\n

A good rule of thumb is, when listening, to ask oneself if one fully comprehends what is being said\u2026or is assumption already at play? Then, clear it up: now.<\/p>\n

The Open Probe<\/strong><\/p>\n

To challenge another with \u201c\u2026well, you\u2019re assuming\u2026\u201d or \u201c\u2026aren\u2019t you assuming\u2026\u201d isn\u2019t the most productive nor effectively diplomatic way to address and derail Assumption. Rather, pulling out an old Sales Tool – the \u201copen probe<\/b>\u201d – can open a doorway to heightened understanding in a matter of moments\u2026<\/p>\n

What\u2019s an \u201copen probe\u201d?<\/p>\n