Last summer Mark met a woman while on vacation and fell head over heels in love with her. On the last night of his vacation, the two of them went to dinner and had a serious talk about how they would continue the relationship.

"It's only fair to warn you, I'm a total golf nut," Mark explained to his new friend. "I eat, sleep and breathe golf, so if that's a problem, you'd better say so now."

"Well, if we're being honest with each other, here goes," she replied. "I'm a hooker."

"I see," Mark replied, and was quiet for a moment. Then he added, "You know, it's probably because you're not keeping your wrists straight when you tee off."

We all listen with filters turned on, just as Mark did. He immediately translated hooker into golf-speak because that's what he thinks about and what he cares about.

We all hear and see the world through the filters of who we are and what we have experienced. As the powerful movie http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/crash/ Crash http://blogs.usatoday.com/ofactor/2006/01/crashs_strategy.html so vividly illustrated, sometimes those filters are negative prejudices. When we act on them, we can precipitate negative or even dangerous reactions.

Insight: Try to see the world their way before responding.

Get more insights about how to stay connected with others with my video *Communicate to Connect* http://sayitbetter.com/store/merchant.mv?
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