Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there, and isn’t vital. It might not seem important to everyone, but background information is the core of every single project we work on. I found this out recently when I was trying to be articulate during a project… it turns out it didn’t matter how eloquent I was; I didn’t 100% grasp what we were doing. I could have said the same thing eight different ways and it still wouldn’t have made sense. The biggest communication barrier was that I didn’t even know I was missing information. But then someone connected those dots, filled me in.

It was my missing link.

Suddenly I was able to put the pieces together, and it made all the difference. So next time you find yourself in that situation- either you or with a co-worker- it might help to take a second and make sure everyone’s on the same page… and essentially working toward the same goal.