Learn, Don’t Assume

By Kirsten Laaspere on  2020-10-14

There is a commonly understood concept in communications where you need to repeat something 10 times for the audience to fully consume it (and for dense business updates and messages this is undeniably true). Unfortunately, the world we live in sees drive by twitter posts that have a more lasting effect. One comment - from any source - can be the spark that ignites a chaotic wildfire spread of that comment as fact; whether or not it actually has any basis in truth.

I don’t have to repeat here what happens when you make assumptions; the old adage has been repeated ad nauseum for a reason. Especially in our information-heavy internet-based society, it is essential that we adapt the ‘trust, but verify’ concept into ‘learn, don’t assume.’

It takes 30 seconds to search the internet (technology is terrifying, but amazing!) to turn a gut assumption into a fact or a falsehood. And in those same 30 seconds, hundreds if not thousands of other people could carry that potential misinformation with them.

So what can we learn from this? If you are an author of any content, be aware of the power that your unproven opinions or conjecture has to spread. And if you are a consumer of content: learn, don’t assume.