Trish and I had an amusing interaction this morning. She was lamenting that she had not yet settled in to her new schedule. With my coaching hat on, I asked her, “How would you settle in to your schedule?”

Somehow she misheard me and thought I asked “Why she would settle in..,” as if I questioned her decision. After we cleared up the confusion, we had a good laugh about what this reflects about our relationship.

It seems like we are from different planets. I take her too literally, when I should think about the spirit of what she is saying. She reads into what I am saying, when she should listen to literally what I said.

What do you do to adapt to other people’s communication styles?