“What we have here is failure to communicate.” – The Captain in the movie Cool Hand Luke
To be such a connected society, I’m concerned as a whole, we are losing the ability to effectively communicate. Modern technology gives us ample opportunities to stay in touch with one another.
However, good communication takes place when you look another person in the eyes while actively listening to understand, not just respond.
Then one or both people ask questions to make sure there is a mutual understanding.
By no means am I saying I’m a great communicator. But I strive to be a better one every day and realize it takes constant attention.
And daily, it seems I deal directly with or hear about issues that could have been totally avoided if there had just been better communication.
One of my favorite stories about lack of communication is as follows:
“This is a story about Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.
There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure Somebody would do it.
Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.
Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job.
Everybody thought Anybody could do it, But Nobody realized Everybody wouldn’t do it.
It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.”
– Anonymous
You can take this old story, add some real names and apply it to almost any crisis. Here’s to better communication and less crisis.
And the next time you have a communication breakdown with a loved one, just quote old Captain in your best Strother Martin accent, “What we have here is a failure to communicate.”
Alan NeSmith is the chairman of Community Newspapers Inc. Reach him at anesmith@TheNortheastGeorgian.com.