Tin Ear

Everyone knows that the only way that they can find out how they look is to use a mirror.  You just can’t see your own face.

But sometimes I am surprised how many people haven’t figured out that the only way they can figure out how they sound to others is by actually listening.

You can’t write well unless you can listen well, listening to the voices in the air, or listening to the voices caught in text by reading them.  What you mean to say isn’t what’s important, the key is what you actually say with words, tone, construction.

You can’t have a tin ear and also communicate well.