Failed assumptions

“Dad I can’t remember what direction letter ‘d’ goes?” Hazel asked me during her most recent bedtime destroying crafting session.

Using one arm as the straight line and the other hand air drawing the curved part I guided her through the proper printing pattern.

It was reminiscent of a communication activity I’ve done with many teams, where one person draws as the other person directs using only words… and it turned out just about as poorly.

As I noticed her cute notes sitting on the counter before my bedtime I realized that the lower case ‘d’ that I was ‘air-drawing’ was not the same direction as the capital ‘D’ she was inquiring about.

Indicative of most great communication failures, my lack of asking deeper questions (“lower case, or upper case?”) caused some ‘mis-teaching’.

As they say:

To assume will make an ass out of ‘u’ and me… and in this case Hazel too.

• Now that’s a peak ethos.