I know you believe you understood
what you think I said, but I am not
sure you realize that what you
heard is not what I meant.
A plaque with this quotation sits in front of me as I write this blog. It sat on my desk in front of every client I saw for almost thirty years. I never mentioned it to a client unless they pointed it out, but they all saw it and I think it helped them realize that they were not alone. Many people laughed when they read it, some just nodded their head in sad agreement with what it said, and some tried to ignore it, while others had their spouse point to it and say “That’s you. We’re here, now do something!”
How we understand what someone else says is a complex process which science is only just beginning to come to grips with. Possibly we will never fully understand how a human brain works and maybe that’s a good thing. It might help us to realize that we are not the center of the universe; that there are things bigger and smaller than us that are unknowable.
But when it comes to how the ear works, we think we have a pretty good grasp on what is going on. As complex as the ear is, it’s a lot easier to figure out how it works than is a human brain. However, figuring out how an ear works does not give us the answers to the questions; how does it sound and can you understand what you are hearing? These are judgments/activities taking place in that most mysterious of places, our brain.
Up until recent times, the way a professional could tell if he/she had achieved a good fitting for a client was to ask the question “How does it sound?” That question is still relevant and should not be thrown out in lieu of a whole series of test protocols that allow a professional to ascertain the quality of a fitting. Getting it right is always more important than doing it right.
It is, of course, important to dot your I’s and cross your T’s when doing a test/fitting, and depending on where you work, you may even have to do some things which you feel are unnecessary. The important thing, though, is to make sure that what your client understands is not only what he heard but it also happens to be what you said.
