Newsflash……the other day I got into a stupid argument with my wife. We were going out to meet friends for New Year’s and we were asked to bring dessert. Returning from her daily workout, she was greeted by the delightful smell of Ghirardelli Brownie Mix, Premium, Caramel Walnut Turtle. The brownies were piping hot sitting in the pan. Turns out, I used the wrong pan and as a result ruined the batch. My wife turned to me and said, “I keep the smaller baking dishes over here.”
And thus, the argument began.
Every time I tried, using her own words, why I was upset, she would get more frustrated with me and say, “But that’s what I said!!! And these brownies are as hard as a rock.”
To which I replied in my best Michael Scott impression, “That’s what she said.”
We both let out a laugh. The argument was over.
Days later, my wife was having lunch with her friend who recently moved from NYC. As she was sharing a detail of their discussion of Israel, I quipped how frustrated I was with the new coverage. My wife quickly turned and said to me in her excited voice, “That’s what she said!”.
I recently had a chance encounter with a mutual friend, and innocently asked her how her husband was doing. To which she replied he should drop dead. I told my wife what happened. She quickly responded with “That’s what she said?”.
Words mean something. But our tone, inflection, and body language mean more. Better communication is about hearing with our eyes, ears, and heart.
Emotions change the meaning of our words.
Choose your words and emotions purposefully.