**Real Talk Thursday:

Different Minds, Different Messages**

One thing life keeps teaching me—especially in shared spaces like work, family, and community—is that not everyone processes information the same way.

And that matters more than we realize.

Some minds think in context.

They want the full picture.

They’re listening for meaning, impact, and what happens next.

They process information by asking, “How does this land? Who does this affect? What does this solve?”

Other minds think in transactions.

They focus on the task.

The answer is literal.

The exchange is complete once the question is technically answered.

Neither is wrong.

But when these two styles meet, friction can happen.

A contextual thinker may feel dismissed or confused by short answers.

A transactional thinker may feel challenged or overwhelmed by follow-up questions.

Same conversation.

Different operating systems.

What I’m learning is that understanding how someone processes information can change how I interpret their response. A brief answer isn’t always lack of care. A clarifying question isn’t always disagreement. Sometimes it’s just two different minds trying to communicate in the same moment.

The growth comes in finding a middle ground.

That might look like:

asking clarifying questions without assuming intent

offering one extra sentence of context when it matters

recognizing when “enough information” means different things to different people

knowing when to bridge the gap—and when to let it go

Effective communication isn’t about changing who we are.

It’s about learning how to translate.

When we stop assuming and start interpreting, conversations soften. Misunderstandings shrink. And we give each other a little more grace.

Different minds.

Different styles.

Still possible to meet in the middle.

Have you ever realized that the frustration wasn’t about the message—but about how differently each of you processed it? How did you work through that?

That’s real talk.