There’s No Communication Until There’s Feedback

Most conversations are simply monologues delivered in the presence of witnesses.
–Margaret Millar

I went to grad school to study communication theory, so I’ll do you a favor and save you some time by condensing all those courses into a single phrase: You’re not communicating unless you hear back.

There, now you have a master’s degree in communication. The tricky part isn’t in knowing that communication is a 2-way street, it’s in knowing what to take in and what to filter out. Here’s a story to help you remember:

A machine in a factory has malfunctioned, and the engineers on site can’t find the source of the problem.

So they call on a retired worker who had spent a long time working with the machine. He comes in, walks up to the machine, looks at it for a minute, pulls out a piece of chalk and draws a circle around the screw that needs to be tightened.

He then writes them a bill for $5,000.

“$5,000, that’s ridiculous, all you did was draw a circle around a screw!”

So he writes them a new bill:
- Drawing a circle around a screw: $1.
- Knowing where to draw it: $4999.

Posted on June 23, 2008 by Frank Roche
Filed Under Communication

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Chad Bordeaux 3 months ago 1 point
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That is a good one. I think I will use it at my Toastmasters meeting tonight! It illustrates a great point. We don't pay for someones work as much as we pay for his/her expertise.

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http://www.redwolfpayroll.com/

Eva Proctor-Laguerre 3 months ago 1 point
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I concur, that was great and should be posted in a management office somewhere... for I am sure there is someones manager who is keeping the $.25 raise from an employee because they don't see the value of "knowing where the screw is."

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http://www.vbpoutsourcing.com

Rosie Sherry 3 months ago 1 point
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It's a good point, an obvious one that needs to be pointed out.

I guess it also lends itself to learning.

For example, I prefer hands on learning and workshops where there is constant communication and feedback throughout a session. Compared to someone standing at the front of a room talking *to* everyone and not engaging with them as much as they could.

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http://talk.talentsocial.com