It may be funny, but it's no joke

Miscommunication: It may be funny, but it's no joke

Have you ever noticed how often bad stuff comes from poor listening, making inaccurate assumptions and asking the wrong questions? And if you don't think so, remember the last time you were in a mess, and reflect on the quality of the communications. "She said...he said....you said...I said....what I meant was....you always...you never...." Or just as risky: silence and stonewalling.

I've worked hard to untangle and de-escalate many crisis situations over the years, and all of them have been aggravated by miscommunication: People half listening, not clarifying, taking action based on erroneous assumptions. Sometimes this leads to tragedy, other times to comedy and often just a mixture of both.

When is miscommunication funny? Usually, it's when we're watching on the sidelines, relieved that we aren't in the situation ourselves. Here is an award-winning joke about listening and asking questions -- and doing both poorly. This joke won a year-long contest involving two million Internet hits, 40,000 jokes and a scientific experiment on what people find funny:

"Two hunters are out in the woods when one collapses. He doesn't seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy whips out his phone and calls emergency services. He gasps, 'My friend is dead! What can I do?' The operator says, 'Calm down. I can help. First, make sure he's dead.' There is a silence, then a shot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says, 'okay, now what?'"