There was a Sprint cell phone commercial a few years ago where a wife asked her husband to bring home a churro. He misunderstood and brought Charo home instead.

The point of the commercial was that the particular phone company had better connections in more places and it would help eliminate confusion. If only changing cell phone providers could clear up these communication mishaps.

In doing research on recent controversies around campus, I have found that almost every situation where a conflict exist share a common thread…a lack of communication. It seems to me that no one is in the wrong; it is just a problem with communication.

This week while reporting on club funding it was obvious that the biggest problem was confusion and poor communication.

Mixed messages are not unique to one department on campus. In last week’s issue on the MacTaggart report, a study conducted to look at the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the university, found that in many situations the needed improvement was better communication.

It is nothing short of irony that in this age of improved information technology, getting through to one another is such a problem. Perhaps we are so inundated with e-mails, phone calls, letters and everything else that we are not paying attention. The error lies largely in the receiving end of things.

The Nielson Norman Group used eye-tracking technology to study if how thoroughly people read e-mailed newsletter they received. What the study found was that people rarely read word-for-word what they get.

The moral of the story? Shorter messages are better and to glean the most from your communicating, read more thoroughly. Basically, we’re supposed to listen more and chatter less. No surprises there.

If you’re still reading this there are some tips for maintaining better communication. Write short paragraphs, bold important ideas and give a lot of detail in subject lines.