“I didn’t break the vase”

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”

“𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘴𝘦”
A simple phrase. It’s only five words. It can’t be misunderstood, right?

Let’s try a little exercise.
Repeat the sentence, putting emphasis on a different word:

🐝 “𝑰 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘴𝘦”
Translation: The vase may be broken, but it wasn’t me

🐝 “𝘐 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘴𝘦”
Translation: The vase might not be broken (and I’m defensive)

🐝 “𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘴𝘦”
Translation: The vase isn’t broken, but there may or may not be damage

🐝 “𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝘷𝘢𝘴𝘦”
Translation: Something might be broken, but it’s not the vase you’re thinking of

🐝 “𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝒗𝒂𝒔𝒆”
Translation: I did break something, but it’s not the vase

One sentence with five completely different meanings.

Now imagine longer sentences – perhaps an email, newsletter or WhatsApp you’ve received.

Communication isn’t about the message being sent or relayed; it’s about mutual understanding.

Internal Communication is a huge influencer Employee Engagement – for better or for worse.

It’s not a standalone team publishing emails. It’s integral to our success in strategically aligning our people with our plan.

If you want to invest in our people, we must remember invest in our comms first.