When the Obvious Answer is Completely Wrong

Janice was working on building friendships with some people at work and had been texting a group of them to arrange social get-togethers, lunches, or drinks after work. One lady, Chelsea, never responded to the texts, and didn't come to any of the events, with no explanation. This went on for several weeks, and it becames clear that she didn't want to have much to do with Janice.

Janice debated whether to talk to some of the other co-workers about Chelsea, or to confront her, but was also a bit hesitant to truly find out what was going on. The rejection hurt, and, after being blatantly ignored for so long, Janice had trouble giving her the benefit of the doubt.

One day, another lady was arranging a lunch, and asked Janice for Chelsea's number. Just as she was about to say not to bother, because Chelsea never came to any events, she looked at the contacts in her phone and realized that Chelsea's number was missing a digit!

Turns out that none of her text messages had gotten through. Turns out that Janice had been stressing about imaginary rejections. Turns out that Chelsea had been stressing about Janice too, and wondering why she was excluding her from all the social events.

Communication is not just sending information out into the world. Communication is not just sending a text, sending an email, doing a presentation or talking. Communication is about making sure that the picture you paint in someone else's head matches the picture in your own.

Close the loop, and say no to one-way communication!