You know what you said, but do they?
The importance of clear communication!
In a recent golf outing, I was playing some of the best golf I’ve played for quite some time. I was playing with 3 younger guys, that were actually impressed on how well I was hitting the ball in the middle of every green and putting lights out. They had played with me before, so they knew this was very out of the ordinary for me. I was so confident in my game, that after the first 9 holes, I made a bet with the other 3. I told them that I would play them heads up on my own, and they could use the best score of any one of the 3 of them on every hole. They knew I was playing well, but the figured this was an easy bet. They agreed to the friendly bet, and we proceeded to the 10th hole. On the way, I said “guys, I only ask for one condition”, here it is they thought to themselves, “on every hole, I am allowed to improve my lie”. “How much do you want to move your ball” asked one of the youngsters? “I promised not to move my ball more than 12 inches in any direction”, I responded. So, we tee off, and go thru the first hole. My good fortune on the course was definitely changing. I put one in the woods, and was short of the green in two, chipped long and 2 putted to finish up. The threesome I was playing against earned a nice par, and I wrote down a 4 for them, and stated, “give me a 4 on that one too”. They looked at me suspiciously, but they figured it was just a gentleman’s bet, so they wrote down a 4 for me. On the way to the 11th hole, I said … “wait a minute give me 3 on that last hole, not a 4”. This, they didn’t go for at all. “Wait a minute” one of the guys said, “there is no way that you got a 3 on that hole”. “No, you’re right” I responded “but if you remember, the bet was I could improve my lie on every hole. I obviously lied about the 4, so I choose now to improve that lie, and make it a 3”. Make sure you know what you’re getting into. Clear communication is very important, and just because you think everyone is completely in agreement, a simple homonym can cost you a simple bet on the golf course, or an entire clause of a contract. I would love to take credit for this story, but it’s one of the many Zig Zigler stories that he is so famous for. If you are having a tough time communicating or getting caught up with semantics, give us a call at Pinnacle Sales! We can help you from preparing to presenting your thoughts in a clear manner.
Pinnacle Sales, LLC
418 Main Street, Suite 6
Belleville, MI 48111
(734) 516-0221