Myths and Realities of Communication

Introduction

Our beliefs influence our behavior. Perception is our reality and our myths help to create our
perceptions. How the world works is heavily influenced by the messages we send about it; that is, how we
communicate. While not all assumptions are myths, when left unchecked, our assumptions become
mythologized. In isolation a given assumption or myth may not cause harm. When several myths are combined
in interlocking set we create a dangerous situation. Assumptions become myths if inflexibly applied as universal
truths. Thus, our myths inform our behavior.

This module will look at five myths that can keep a manager from communicating effectively. They are:

 The Back-Burner Myth

 The Quick Fix Myth

 The More Is Better Myth

 The Conveyor Belt Myth

 The Visibility Myth

When several myths are combined in interlocking set we create a dangerous situation. Assumptions
become myths if inflexibly applied as universal truths. Thus, our myths inform our behavior.

1. The Back Burner Myth

The Back-Burner Myth is the feeling that communication will take care of itself and that it can be

put on “the back burner” as long as functional duties are attended to.

This is where a manager says: “My communication behavior will take care of itself. As long as I do a good

job of managing, I can pretty well just forget about communication—it is something I can put on the back

burner.”

This myth is a belief that we do not need to be concerned about our communication behavior, rather that it will

take care of itself.

 A surprisingly large number of managers subscribe to this myth. They reject the notion that the skill in

communicating with people is just as essential as expertise in finance, marketing, engineering, operations,

accounting, and so forth.

A manager may feel that communication important, but it is something that has been learned in the process

of living. After all, we don’t pay attention to how we walk or need to learn to walk better. That’s something we

learned to do when growing up. The same is true of communicating.

Therefore, many managers believe that there is no need to put time and effort into improving

communication effectiveness—it can be relegated to the Back Burner.

The reality is that communication is far too important to be overlooked or minimized. We must

focus on our communication and work on its success just as we would any other aspect of our job. We

cannot be effective on our jobs unless we are effective communicators.

As we have seen, around 80% of a manager’s time is spent communicating and only about 20% doing other
things. It means that we need to pay attention to listening because it encompasses that much of our jobs.

Herman Wouk, in his epic novel, The Winds of War points out the following example from World

War II: The Japanese sent scout plane to survey the site that became the battle of Midway. The pilot

reported back: “I see some ships.” The Japanese Admiral did not think his airplanes were in danger, so

he had his planes refuel. Although the pilot did convey that he saw ships, he did not relay the type of

ships they were—aircraft carriers. American planes were able to attack the Japanese ships while their

planes were being refueled and, thus, were vulnerable. The Japanese lost battle, so the United States did

not have to divert forces from Europe to the Pacific. The nature of World War II and perhaps history

changed because of a failure to communicate effectively.

Peter Drucker, one of the leading figures in the study of management, also stressed this reality:

“Your success [in an organization] . . . and I am talking of much more than getting promoted—will

depend on your ability to communicate with people and to present your own thoughts and ideas to
 them so they will understand what you are driving at and be persuaded . . . This ability to express

oneself is perhaps the most important of skills a [person] can possess.”

2. The Quick Fix Myth

The Quick Fix Myth is the belief that that somewhere there is a magic formula for effective com-

munication and all that is needed for a manager to be a good communicator is to find that secret. It is the

opposite of the Back Burner Myth and has us believing that there is some quick, easy remedy to our

communication difficulties.

This myth is the flip side of first myth. There the manager sees communication as unimportant. Here

the manager sees communication as magic. All a manager has to do to become an effective

communicator is learn the “secrets.”

Armed with these tricks, the manager will control the communication magic at once. There are a

spate of popular books and easy remedy courses to learn the how-to of "immediate" mastery of

communication. One book promised it would enable the manager: “to learn in just one hour the secret of

how to command and dominate everyone you meet—right in the palm of your hand you hold the power

to get your way with others every time.” Another offered: “a thrilling new concept of psychological

judo, that shows you how to win people over to your point of view, no matter how antagonistic they

have been to it before.”

This myth assumes that adults can turn around a lifetime of habits and behaviors in a matter of

minutes or hours. It assumes that locked away in some secret cabinet are the magical communication

techniques that absolutely guarantee success—if only someone will show you where and give you the

key. There are people who are willing to give you the key, “if you pay the price.” And there is a price to

pay—time, effort, money, hurt feelings, and poor communication and work relationships.
The most dangerous assumption of this myth—as illustrated by the popular books and easy remedies—is

the definition of success. Success is invariably measured by extent to which one person can dominate

others:

 There is no room for acceptance of integrity of other people.

 There is no room for open-minded exchange of ideas.

 There is no room for discussion.

 There is no room for concern or caring.

Would you want a boss trained to think this way?

The reality is that good communication takes a great deal of hard work and effort. We must focus on

our audience and make sure that they understand our messages.

The reality is that communication, especially in volatile world of organizational manager, is much

too complicated to permit accepting a list of simple cookbook recipes as reliable guides for action.

 There is no secret.

 There is no magic.

 There are no “10 handy-dandy” communication techniques that will make you the world's greatest
manager overnight.

The reality is that if there is one overriding principle of communication (principle not technique), it

is that as a communicator you must adapt to the specific audience in the specific situation. That is not

saying what your audience wants to hear, but rather framing your message is such a way that it can be

understood in the most effective fashion.

3. The More Is Better Myth

The More is Better Myth is the belief that more communication is always better. It is a belief that

the more communication we throw at a problem, the better we are able to deal with that problem. This
 myth fosters the feeling that more information is always better and that more communication is always

better. In other words you can always solve a problem with more communication.

A quick look at some of the conflicts around the world today, including the Middle East, the

Balkans, South Asia’s India-Pakistan disputes, and even the war on terrorism tell us that not all

problems can necessarily be solved with more communication.

One consequence of this myth is information overload. Information overload occurs when a

person or system receives information or messages at a faster rate than they can be processed. As input

increases, output also increases up to a point, but when input is too great, breakdown occurs. As tension

within the individual builds, errors in processing information and messages increase. When information

input is too great, breakdowns start to occur and tension builds within any individual. As this tension

increases, errors in processing the information and message we are receiving begin to increase more and

more. We overlook things, make mistakes, misinterpret messages, and so forth.

Another consequence of this myth is that we focus on quantity, not quality of our communication. We think

that just because we say something frequently, we have communicated effectively. We don’t have to be

concerned with how well or effectively we say something, just the fact that we have said it.

This myth also causes us to focus on talking, not listening, which is critical for effective communication.
Listening is a major part of a manager’s life. Professional people spend approximately 80% of their time on the
job communicating and only around 20% engaged in other activities. That means that close to half of the time
we spend communicating is spent listening.

The reality is that we must be aware of message overload and should also focus on the quality of our

communication, not simply the quantity. Having too much information can cause us to make mistakes and

errors in our work. The tension we feel when confronted with information overload makes us less productive

and might even lead to illness.

We need to focus on the effectiveness of our messages, not just the fact that we have said something. Most of

us have heard someone say: “I told you five times how to do that task. Why couldn’t you get it right?” It is not
how many times we tell someone something that makes us an effective communicator, but how well we tell

them—utilizing feedback and good listening skills.

The reality is that active, effective listening can help you better deal with information overload, minimize

message distortion, lead to better quality problem solving and decision making, manage your time better, and

also lead to better relationships—at work at with friends.

Listening shows that you value employees and their opinions. When your employees see that their

advice and opinions are taken into account, they are further encouraged to share and often feel motivated

to innovate and contribute in ways that they may not have otherwise.

4. The Visibility Myth

The Visibility Myth is the belief that the obvious message is the only one we need to pay attention to. We

focus our attention on the conspicuous; for example, memos, bulletin boards, telephone, videotapes, house

organs, the Internet, email, and so forth. We feel that we communicate only when we choose to do so. At most

we are aware of the content of the message, but ignore the nonverbal cues that are present.

The reality is that we must be aware of subtle nonverbal cues in the situation like tone of voice, facial

expression, posture, dress, and so forth. We must also focus on setting up a positive communication climate or

environment in which to communicate to others.

The reality is that we need to focus as much on “how something is said as well as what is said.” Just think

about the following statement: “I would appreciate it if you could have the report on my desk by 5:00 o'clock.”

The statement seems quite simple, but image it said in a polite tone of voice in contrast to a sarcastic tone of

voice.

The reality is that message carry importance information about our relationships with others. Messages carry

with them information about power and status, whether we want others included in our groups or not, whether

we treat others as valuable, worthwhile individuals, how much we like others, and how much we care about
others. These relationship aspects of messages have a critical impact on our desire to work and work hard for

out organization.

The reality is that you need to look at climate that you establish for communication in the organization.

Communication climate is something that is readily apparent, but something that has a large impact on people’s

willingness to work hard.

5. The Conveyor Belt Myth

The Conveyor Belt Myth is the belief that meanings travel as if on a “conveyor belt” from the mind

of the message sender to the mind of the message receiver. It assumes that we can transfer meaning from the

mind of one person to the mind of another.

This myth is the belief that when people communicate, they are transferring meanings, as if by conveyor

belt, from the mind of the message sender to the message receiver. The myth implies that words have meanings

in and of themselves, thus, if you can pick just the right word, you will have communicated effectively and

people will understand exactly what you are trying to convey.

One of the consequences of this myth is that it encourages managers to believe that just because they have

spoken or issued a statement, they have effectively communicated. It is one of the prime factors contributing to

message distortion.

Another consequence of this myth is that it encourages a one-way approach to communication and discourages

listening effective listening.

It also encourages desire to look toward others for blame if something goes wrong. It assumes that sending a

message is like sending a package: if I send a package, it should arrive at the other end exactly as it was sent; if

not, then some outside source must be to blame for the “damaged” message.
 The reality is that words have no inherent meaning in and of themselves; people interpret the words they

hear to own meaning. The reality is that we all understand the messages we hear in our own way, so that the

sender’s intended meaning may be different from the receiver’s intended meaning. This reality underscores the

need to continually check out our assumption and for the effective use of feedback whenever we interact with

others.

The reality is that people attach emotional interpretations as well as meanings to words. We react not only to

the meaning of words, but also to the feelings that the words provoke in us when we hear them. Words like

“idiot” or “stupid” or “fool” often cause us to have emotional reactions. Such emotional reactions create one of

the strongest barriers to effective listening and communication.

The reality is that we need for feedback for effective communication. Using feedback appropriately can

lead to less message distortion and greater accuracy in the information that you send and receive. It can also

help to establish a more positive communication climate and better relationships with your employees.

Using feedback provides the speaker with a good indication of how you interpret what he or she is

saying. Feedback involves more that repetition. To be most effective, you should try to convey what you

understand the message to mean to you. This allows you to check your understanding and interpretation of what

another person had to say against they actually did mean.

Feedback consists of the messages we send to a person (or a group) which gives that person information

about how we react to their messages and how that person affects others. Feedback helps others consider and

alter their behavior and thus better achieve their goals. Additionally, feedback is central to building

understanding and establishing trust, two of the cornerstones of effectively communicating with employees.

Feedback also serves two important functions for a manager. Feedback is a sign to others that you have truly
attended to their concerns, needs or ideas. Feedback from others offers a manager an opportunity to learn about
the concerns, needs and ideas of co-workers or employees.