EMC135 Words, Words, Words!! 2/4
To:   Emergency Communications Units - Information Bulletin
To:   Emergency Management Agencies via Internet and Radio
By:   Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS) of the
      California Governor's Office of Emergency Services  

EMC135 Words, Words, Words!! 2/4      For release   6/1/98

(Topic continues from 134)
How, then, do we successfully communicate our ideas? When we
write one of these bulletins how can we assure that you will
grasp what we have in mind?  Well, truth be told, we cannot do
that, nor can you. We do the best we can with the media form and
live with the consequences. No matter how careful our word and
phrase selection, without face-to-face opportunities it's
possible the message will be interpreted differently than
intended, as the tone and body language are missing.

And even with in-person communications we still cannot be
certain that our thoughts were clearly understood by the
other person. At one point in my career I was an escrow officer
with a title insurance firm dealing with real estate title
transfers. It was a large office, 30 foot counter staffed
by a group of us. That particular day a distraught customer
came up to the counter and laced into me and the company about
some problem. The more he shouted and complained the less I
knew what was the problem. Then, I did something I'd never done
before or afterward. I slammed my fist on the counter, and
loudly said, "Stop it. Stop it!" whereupon 50 people in the
office looked up in alarm, thinking I'd lost it. Then, I added,
softly, "Now let's start all over. I don't know what you are
talking about. Please start again". Well, it cleared the air,
and we effectively communicated and went on to solve the
problem. But, in order to do so it was necessary to clear his
mental slate so he could clearly explain the problem.

Once the emotions can be calmed down an effective means of
interpersonal communications can be: "Can you cover that again, 
can you explain that differently?" Or "I thought you said ..." 
Or "would you amplify on that?" It's fairly easy to do that    
in face to face conversations, and to some degree, on the 
telephone. 

What about voice radio and telephone? In voice media it is      
somewhat easier to ask probing and interpretative questions.
Even so, that can be difficult for those of us whose emotions
are triggered to where we become angry because of a tone of
voice or something -- sometimes we're not sure what it was
that made us angry or whatever caused us to close our mind
to the real content of the message and hear only what caused
our reaction! After that we seldom hear or see anything that
is said (or written) once our response crystallizes in our
mind.

(Continues next week)
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ACS Web page: http://acs.oes.ca.gov       FTP archive:
ftp.ucsd.edu/hamradio/packet/tcpip/incoming for new
bulletins and ftp.ucsd.edu/hamradio/races for earlier ones.
Landline BBS: 916-262-0856 (graphical & standard interface).
State Chief ACS Officer Cary Mangum: Cary_Mangum@oes.ca.gov
EOM EMC135