商业沟通：“四不像定律”
很多人都熟悉墨菲定律（Murphy's Law），这个定律说：“凡是有可能出错的地方一定会出错。”
从墨菲定律可以得出一个教训：任何时候都要事先认真规划，努力预见到所有可能发生的意外或挫折，并为每种可能制定应急的计划。这是支持为生活或为商业做情景规划的一个强有力的论点。
但是，还有一个鲜为人知的关于人们相互沟通的推论，我称之为“四不像定律”。
四不像定律是说：“假如人们有可能彼此误解，就一定会产生误解。”
换句话说，无论是语言沟通还是书面沟通，你必须假定，对方产生误解的概率非常高。所以，最好预计可能会产生误解的地方，并努力做到清楚明白，让人理解。
即便和你的同乡谈话，这个定律也适用。因此，它对跨文化、跨语言之间的沟通具有更大的实用性。 |
Business Communications: Sibuxiang's Law
Many people are familiar with Murphy's Law, which states that “Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.”
The lesson derived from Murphy's Law is to always plan ahead carefully, trying to anticipate every possible surprise or setback ; and have a contingency plan in place for each. It is a strong argument in favor of scenario planning in life or in business.
There is, however, a little-known corollary which relates to how people communicate with each other, and I will call it Sibuxiang's Law.
Sibuxiang's Law states that “If people can possibly misunderstand each other, they will.”
In other words, whether communicating verbally or in writing, you must assume a high degree of probability that the other side will misunderstand you. Therefore, it's best to try to anticipate the points of potential misunderstanding, and work hard to make yourself clear and understood.
This is applicable when talking to someone from the same home town as you, so it is even more relevant when communicating across different cultures and languages. |
