I used to start my first lecture of the semester for university students with the words one cannot not communicate. The phrase came from the Palo Alto Group, a group of researchers studying the mind.

The basic idea is that no matter what we’re doing or saying, we are indeed communicating something to the other person. That’s why it irks me to no end when I hear someone say, “we’re not communicating.” Because it’s not that someone isn’t communicating, it’s that he or she isn’t communicating effectively.

If you’re sitting on a bus reading a book with the cover “50 Shades of Grey”, you’re communicating something different to other riders than if you’re reading a book with the cover “The Bible.” If you’re silent during a lunch out with your best friend, you’re communicating something to him or her.
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