No Backstory May Mean Receiving Unwarranted Criticism
Under-communicating puts you at risk for others believing falsehoods
People may not have sufficient information, facts, context and understanding when they jump to conclusions and deliver harsh judgment as the byproduct.
That leads to errors in thinking, overconfidence and the problematic criticism they likely dump on other people, maybe even you.
"So, if people really understood the backstory of a lot of things, I don't think there would be as much criticism as there would be an understanding,” said Tyler Perry recently.
The actor, filmmaker and playwright added, “But because I'm a person who doesn't go around sharing everything or talking about everything that I've experienced or dealt with, it leaves room for much speculation."
Let’s tightly break this down.
People may not have the backstory in a situation and that could be because it is not be readily available. They are not going to seek it out and gather facts to develop a fuller, clearer picture to better inform or educate themselves before their emotions lead to a negative attitude and communicating what may well be wrongful criticism.
Disclosing what isn’t known can provide important, critical, valuable insight that may temper the initial, intense, misleading, critical emotions, biases and hardened feelings.
Additionally, not every person or group is going to communicate everything about what has transpired or is going on currently, meaning that perception, conclusions and judgment “leaves room for much speculation,” as Perry said.
That speculation can be dangerous territory for reputations. It’s helpful to provide sufficient information and context as a protective layer whenever it is possible.
This newsletter — Reputation Intelligence — is written by Michael Toebe, and is a product of Reputation Intelligence - Reputation Quality, a firm which helps individuals and organizations assure a greater peace of mind, provide stress relief through reliable decision analysis, consulting, advisory and communications.
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