I speak very quickly. All my life, I’ve been asked by audiences to “slow down”. I have to repeat myself constantly.
An easy solution to this is just to have everyone else just listen faster. That’d be better, wouldn’t it? I could cover the same information in the same time, they’d be able to use their time more efficiently, and I wouldn’t need to change my style.
Of course, that’s a ridiculous request. People don’t change the way they engage with the world simply because you want them to.
So why do we get frustrated by “stupid clients who can’t figure out our systems”, “Stubborn employees who refuse to see it my way”, or “the boss who just won’t listen?”
The onus is on you. If you’re not being heard, if you’re not being understood, it’s up to you to change the way in which you’re expressing yourself. That, or find a different audience. As soon as it’s “all their fault”, you’re sunk.
