Pete C. (L.E.T. Trainer and Police Sergeant) and Bill Stinnett (L.E.T. Master Trainer) discuss how verbal communication is essential in clarifying what the other person is communicating. Your co-worker may slam the door at work – you think to yourself “She must have be having a bad day—I better stay away from her!” So all day you assume that this co-worker is upset and you avoid approaching or working with her. She may be upset or maybe not—maybe slamming the door was accidental—who knows? Granted this is a rather innocuous example, but you get the general idea. In effective leadership training, verbal communication, in addition to reading non-verbal communication, is used to help one understand the other more clearly. Leadership training reminds us to put the assumptions aside and collect the facts (what specific behavior did you actually observe, what did the other actually say).