“Excuse me waiter, I didn’t ask for moose.”

Communication is tough enough. Even when you know the correct words and know exactly what you’re talking about, the message can still get fouled up.

My wife and I have a running joke about our two worlds. She comes from a hotel & restaurant background. I’m from the world of wildlife management. Imagine my excitement when she asked if I wanted to accompany her one year to the NRA convention. I’m thinking Smith & Wesson, Glock, all the big firearms manufacturers will be at the Natioinal Rifle Assoication meeting.

But she soon corrects me. “No, you big goober, the National Restaurant Association.”

Oh. Well, OK, at least I can eat my way through the booths at the trade show!

Some other examples of communications miscues in our two industries:

–Mousse - delicious, fluffy dessert
–Moose - a large antlered animal common in Canada

–”in the weeds” - to me, a person or animal literally hiding in the tall grass. However, in the restaurant industry, in the weeds means you’re running behind. For example the kitchen staff that is short-handed takes longer getting your food out because they’re in the weeds.

–bullets - for me, bullets refers to ammunition for my .30-06 deer rifle. My wife thinks bullets are an itemized list of ingredients or tasks on a memo.

So even when you know that you know what you’re talking about, your message may still not be clear. Be sure to run your message through your experiential filters and consider the backgrounds of others to make sure they understand your message.

Or, after your lovely dinner, you may just have to enjoy the moose!

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