Do you have any horny?

I spent a few minutes with a nice old foreign lady trying to decipher what she wanted.

"Do you have any hornet, hornaaay, horny?"

I didn't know if she had some peanut butter stuck to the roof of her mouth or what? Luckily she was not looking for horny, but after she described that it was sweet, and came from Biiiiz I was able to figure it out.
Unfortunately, and probably fortunately, we don't all speak the same language. Even when we do speak the same language we don't really speak the same language. Communicating effectively is important for so many reasons. Clarifying language is probably the first step in getting productivity. More often than not our problems are created from A- lack of communication, or B- not clarifying what someone needs.

There are six billion people on this planet. Each one has their own way of doing things and their own interpretations. Often, the root of our problems is simply not taking the time to clarify ourselves. One of my new co-workers is deaf. He has his own system of sign language that he uses with his co-workers. It takes time to learn his ways. I am sure the guy is constantly frustrated whenever he has to teach a new guy to understand him. Yet, he is incredibly patient. If someone doesn't get something then he repeats the process and tries to make himself more clear in one way or another.

Communication is two sided. I could have just told the old lady that we did not have any horny. I could have just ran and found somebody else to pass her off on, but I tried to give it a few minutes and work through it. Eventually, she got her honey.