Waiting for Curiosity
I kept searching for better words until I understood that some misunderstandings are not waiting for an explanation. They are waiting for curiosity.
This is not a reason to stop listening whenever someone disagrees with me. I may need clearer words, a more honest apology or more patience. Understanding also requires room for both people to reconsider their interpretation.
When I keep changing my explanation only to secure agreement, I may no longer be clarifying what I mean. I may be moving away from it. Curiosity asks something of me too: to hear the other person’s experience without demanding that it match my own.
Sometimes another explanation helps. Sometimes the next useful step is a question, a change in behaviour or a pause.
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