Communication Trap #2: Negative Interpretation

Another very common communication error is Negative Interpretation. We do it all the time at my office, especially in communications over long distances between locations, or in adversarial meetings between supervisors and employees. It usually occurs because of a bias that we hold, intentionally or unintentionally, knowingly or unknowingly. I'll explain more in a moment.

Negative Interpretation occurs when someone commits the Fundamental Attribution Error. How's that for clearing up ambiguity? The Fundamental Attribution Error is Harvard-speak for this: the bias of attributing the observed behavior of an individual to personality factors rather than external situational factors. For example, we may assume that an accident occurred because an individual was lazy instead of because of a lack of training.

If I act reluctant to sit down to watch a movie with my wife, she may incorrectly assume that "you didn't really want to watch that movie with me" or even worse, she may combine negative interpretation with invalidation and pull off a zinger like, "you never like watching the movies I like." The truth may be that I was just tired from a long day, or that I had a task I was really wanting to complete first (really darling, that's my story and I'm sticking with it!)

The same thing happens around the office when we commit the fundamental attribution error and communicate our negative interpretation to our coworkers ("are you just trying to get out of work?") When we do this, employees become less motivated, less engaged, and less willing to work with us because they feel that we are not really listening to them or trying to understand things from their point of view.

To overcome this tendency, try to force yourself to look for evidence that is contrary to your negative interpretation. If you find yourself thinking "that person is just lazy" then ask yourself, "are there any other possible reasons for this behavior?"

Try this at home. See what happens. Then try it at work too.