Much frustrated head-banging on the part of the Internet user could be avoided if more websites knew just what it is their customers want. All the online company has to do is take the trouble to find out which problems their customers are trying to solve and what information is needed, simply by listening and observing rather than flashing and whining. 

Today we seem to insist that things be horrendously complicated and technologically unnerving before we'll accept results, whether as an answer to a query or a medical diagnosis. Many professions seem unwilling, or unable, to give instinctive and straightforward answers to their clients' questions. The skill that's missing is that of observing closely and listening carefully to what is said or not said, and in what manner thoughts are conveyed. 

Here's a case in point. A relation of mine recently lost the sight in one eye after swimming backwards into the wall of a swimming pool. To an outsider it seemed quite simple -- a bang on the head led to the swelling of the optic nerves, and so messages were no longer able to travel from the brain to the eye. 

But as my bewildered relation went from expert to expert, each came up with a different reason as to why she had partially lost her sight, and the majority said it was likely it would not return. One suggested a disease had been brewing for years, another said it was an infection, yet another said she had a genetic disorder. 

No-one seemed able to grasp the simple story of the accident in the pool. As a result, the connection was not made -- the assumption was that the origin of the blindness had to be more complicated than a knock on the head. In the end, all the eye and head needed were a few weeks' rest, after which the swelling came down and sight was restored fully. 

In order to avoid misunderstandings, we need to look at the ways in which we ask and answer questions, and also whether or not we are listening to what is not being said. 

The best way of ensuring that you are being understood is for you to recognize immediately, from the original query, just what way of seeing or understanding is being conveyed. You should then be able to adjust your answer accordingly, in order for your answer to make sense. 

Full story:
http://www.nuaknowledgenews.com/editorial
[This link has now been discontinued.]