Filtering
What will be an ideal response?
Filtering is the process of withholding, ignoring, or distorting information. Senders do this when they tell the boss what they think the boss wants to hear, or give unwarranted compliments rather than honest criticism. Receivers also filter information; they may fail to recognize a message's importance, or attend to some aspects of it but not others. Probably you have heard the saying: "So-and-so hears only what he wants to hear (or sees only what he wants to see)."
Sometimes managers, so as not to demotivate, soften or distort the fact that an employee needs to correct a problem behavior.
A manager may sugarcoat the feedback by saying Page 432 "That wasn't bad" or "You'll get the hang of it after a while." Honesty, including better ideas or suggestions, works better.10 You can start by giving a heads-up that something important and useful is coming.11
Because of such filtering and perceptual differences, you cannot assume the other person means what you think he means, or understands the meanings you intend. Managers need to interpret signals and adjust their own communication styles and perceptions to the people with whom they interact.12 The very human tendencies to filter and perceive subjectively underlie much of the need for more effective communication practices that you will read about in the rest of this chapter.
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