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losing sleep over the way Big John was taking advantage of him. Finally, he couldn’t stand

it any longer. He decided to face the bully, so he signed up for body-building courses, karate,
judo, and all that stuff that could make him physically stronger. While training, the bus
driver told everyone what had happened to him, how unfair everything was and what he was

planning to do.

After almost six months of hard training in the gym and in martial arts he had become
quite strong and he felt really good about himself. So he decided that the next day if Big
John tried to play a trick, he would confront him. The day finally came, when Big John
once again got on the bus and said, “Big John doesn’t have to pay!” The bus driver stood up,

glared back at the man and screamed “And why not?”, while pulling up his sleeves. With a
surprised look on his face, Big John replied, “Big John has a bus pass, so Big John doesn’t

have to pay!” The bus driver apologized to Big John for screaming at him. He sat down and
took a couple of minutes to think over what he had subjected himself to for six months and
how all of it could have been avoided if he
had just asked him why he didn’t have to

pay.

At the end of the day, when the bus driver
was on his way home, he met the mentor
at the martial art studio, he had been to.

His mentor asked him, “So did you stand
up to the bully this time?” The bus driver
told him what had happened.

His mentor calmly said, “Sometimes there
is no bad guy, only miscommunication.”

So, what is miscommunication?

It is just the failure of communication of the intended message clearly.

The most common reason for miscommunication is poor listening skills. As a result, the

person doesn’t understand what is being said. He or she misinterprets the message and
makes hasty assumptions.

Another reason is rushed communication. It is as good as no communication at all.

People don’t always say what they mean and they don’t always mean what they say. So it’s
important that we ask relevant questions to dig a little deeper.

There are many more reasons why miscommunication can happen.

It’s assuming understanding, which means you say something but don’t bother to find out

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