# Reading Omissions By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2025-01-16 Business messages are an interesting form of communication. Because time is money, business communications are notoriously brief and to the point. They tend to have a style that is simple and direct. Business communications tend to state something and nothing else. Extending this further, many business communications communicate nothing at all. In some respects, the directness of the communication forecloses the establishment of context. A one-sentence statement has no context. There is nothing around the singular statement to aid in making sense of its possible interpretation. One approach is to read the statement. This is by far the most common approach. This could be considered the default approach to reading. Another approach is to read for omissions. Understanding what could have been said but couldn’t be revealed. For example, if an organization sends a memo to its employees about the organization failing to reach its revenue targets, but the memo does not mention anything about the continued employment of its employees, that is potentially revealing. The memo could have stated something to the effect that while the organization failed to reach its revenue targets, there would not be a reduction in the workforce. The fact that such reassurance was omitted could convey that the workforce is vulnerable to cuts due to failing to reach its revenue targets. Omissions are consequential. Understanding how to read for omissions can provide beneficial insights. Identifying omissions is part of what enables some to be ahead of the pack. Those with a strategic read of situations identify omissions and then research to fill the gaps. Taking information as presented is limiting and seldom to one’s benefit. When context is omitted, one must consider plausible alternatives and explore those potentialities. Every message is two: the message that is there and the message that is not. One should attempt to read both. #### Related Items [[Business]] [[Communication]] [[Strategy]] [[Omission]] [[Thinking]] [[Information]] [[Intention]]