I was writing emails to schedule conversations with potential business partners. Once we agreed on a time, I replied with an Outlook calendar invite. Since no one had asked for this, I included a note saying, “I hope you find these invitations as useful as I do.”
One person responded, “Not sure if there was a note of sarcasm in there re outlook invites but I don’t like that.”
In that moment, both of us felt misunderstood.
When was the last time something you said or did was misinterpreted? And when have you been the misinterpreter?
This three-minute video talks about how doctors in the 1800s misdiagnosed women with an illness. That happened not because the women were sick, but because the doctors weren’t used to seeing women focus and physically exert themselves.
Our brains want to protect us and, at the same time, not work too hard to figure out what’s going on. That’s why we jump to conclusions and stereotype people. (Both links offer more information.) This is particularly common when we’re dealing with behavior that doesn’t gibe with socially accepted gender roles.
If you’re ready to stop perpetuating “bicycle face,” try the three-step process in the video.
Want to know more about avoiding the miscommunications happening in everybody’s brains? Let’s talk.