People tend to fill in the parts they cannot see on their own

It happened when I was interacting with support from an overseas company some time ago.

Even though I was sending what I wanted to ask, the answers that came back were slightly off.

I would explain it again.

Then, a slightly different reply would come back again.

I repeated such exchanges many times.

At the time, I thought, "Why can't we understand each other?"

Surely there must be a problem with the other party's response.

That is how I was thinking.

But looking back now, all I was looking at was the exchange right in front of me.

I may have barely looked at the circumstances or environment on the other side.

No matter how many times I explained, the conversation didn't move forward.

It happened when I was interacting with support from an overseas company some time ago.

Even when I sent questions, the answers that came back were slightly off.

I would explain it again.

Then, a slightly different reply would come back again.

Such exchanges continued many times.

At the time, I thought, "Why can't we understand each other?"

Honestly, I also remember being a little irritated by the other party's response.

If we could just have a proper conversation, it would have been so different.

Once a Japanese staff member started handling things halfway through, the conversation that had been stalled until then suddenly moved forward.

Of course, that did not mean all the problems were solved.

But what left the biggest impression on me was

the feeling that "I can communicate properly."

That was what I felt.

I didn't have to repeat the same explanation over and over again.

That sense of relief was greater than I had imagined.

What I couldn't see wasn't the other person, but the environment

At the time, I thought, "I guess it really was the person in charge's fault."

But looking back after some time has passed, I am able to see things a little differently.

Back then, AI translation was not as advanced as it is now.

I think it was a much more difficult environment than today to exchange detailed information with someone who did not fully understand Japanese.

Thinking about it that way, the feeling I had that "it's not getting through" might not have been just the fault of the person in charge, but also heavily influenced by the environment and systems of that time.

I was only looking at the other person.

But perhaps what I really should have been looking at was the environment surrounding that person.

I might have been filling in what I didn't know on my own

I remembered this experience during the unpaid invoice trouble with an overseas company that I wrote about before.

If it were the old me,

"The management system must be bad."

I might have jumped to that conclusion.

But this time

I was able to think, "Perhaps there are circumstances I am not aware of."

I was able to think that way.

After that, I saw a post from overseas about someone being suddenly fired from the same company.

Of course, I don't know if that applies to my representative as well.

But after seeing that post,

I was able to think, "Perhaps there were circumstances I couldn't see."

I was able to think that way.

Looking back, it wasn't that I understood the other person, nor that I misunderstood them.

I may have been filling in the parts I couldn't see with a story of my own making.perhaps.

When information is lacking, people want to find a reason.

And sometimes, without knowing if that reason is correct, we end up creating a story.

Of course, that doesn't mean we should defend the other person no matter what.

However,

"There might be things I still cannot see."

I feel that just being able to think that way changes how things look a little.

Recently, when I need to make a judgment about someone,

"Am I creating a story based only on the view I have right now?"

I have started to think about things like that.

Thank you for always reading.

In this note, I observe my own insights and hypotheses triggered by daily events.

Rather than providing the correct answer, I would be happy if I could provide an opportunity for you to think, "What would I do in this situation?"

Whether you agree or have a completely different perspective, that is fine.

I would be happy if we could think about it together in the comments.