To the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost blind you draw large and startling figures.
Interpretation
Effective communication requires adapting to the audience's needs and abilities.
This quote by Flannery O'Connor emphasizes the importance of tailoring our communication methods to suit the audience. Just as we would shout for those who can't hear and draw large figures for those who struggle to see, we must be attentive to how our message is received and adjust our approach accordingly to ensure understanding.
In practice
In a presentation, I often remember the quote by O'Connor to adapt my visuals for those who might have trouble seeing the slides.
Let me make no bones about it: I write from the standpoint of Christian orthodoxy. Nothing is more repulsive to me than the idea of myself setting up a little universe of my own choosing and propounding a little immoralistic message. I write with a solid belief in all the Christian dogmas.
What people don’t realize is how much religion costs. They think faith is a big electric blanket, when of course it is the cross.
If you live today, you breath in nihilism ... it's the gas you breathe. If I hadn't had the Church to fight it with or to tell me the necessity of fighting it, I would be the stinkingest logical positivist you ever saw right now.
There won't be any biographies of me because, for only one reason, lives spent between the house and the chicken yard do not make exciting copy.
Knowing who you are is good for one generation only. You haven't the foggiest idea where you stand now or who you are
He loved her because it was his nature to do so, but there were times when he could not endure her love for him. There were times when it became nothing but pure idiot mystery.
Communication starts with the understanding that there is my point of view (my truth) and someone else's point of view (his truth). Rarely is there one absolute truth, so people who believe that they speak the truth are very silencing of others.
Once you can clearly describe what you are reacting to, free of your interpretation or evaluation of it, other people are less likely to be defensive when they hear it.
I don't know what a softball question is. All I know is I have no agenda. I ask short questions, and I listen to the answer.
Evil communication corrupts good manners. I hope to live to hear that good communication corrects bad manners.
We cannot be speakers who do not listen. But neither can we be listeners who do not speak.
The worst thing about e-mail is that you can’t interrupt the other person. You have to read the whole thing and then e-mail them back, pointing out all their mistakes and faulty assumptions. It’s frustrating and it’s time-consuming. God bless phone calls.
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