The Strange Gets Stranger...

This week's theme has to do with one word that can bring an end to relationships, cause strife within companies and call into question alot of things: miscommunication.

There has been alot of recent events that have brought the concept of miscommunication to the forefront.

One such event took place right around the time the PR class I'm a part of was discussing crisis communications (oh the irony!). The new general of the Canadian Forces along with Defence Minister Peter McKay were holding a joint news conference. One of the questions from a reporter was about the alleged abuse of Afghan prisoners. While the general tried to answer the question, McKay denied that anything happened. Now where were the communications people when this happened? I realize as a PR student you can't prepare for every possible scenario but somebody had to anticpate that question was going to be asked.

Another incident that took place is mentioned in my hyperlink. A couple came into the White House and met the President along with the First Lady. Now, this episode of the Keystone Cops is being blown sky high. The couple went on television and said they were invited but the Press Secretary and Secret Service have come out and said they weren't. The Secret Service now wants to press criminal charges. All this hassle is happening because people didn't take the time to communicate properly.

There's an amazing skill that has been drilled into me from the day I walked into Loyalist. It's called active listening. This skill requires the person to ask questions to try and prevent any misunderstandings. In some cases, the person listening paraphrases what the other person is saying to see if they have the correct interpretation of the message.

It's sad to see that even in today's society active listening is not practiced on a regular basis. Using active listening techniques could've saved the people in the examples above alot of headaches and alot of time.

I shouldn't be one to preach because I'll admit to the fact that every now and again I've missed what a person was trying to tell me.

That's it from the Bird's Nest. I'm going to leave you with a song I hope to play when and if I depart Canada to go to Scotland for placement. Also, I'm going to let you in on a random fact. If you look at the picture that's posted before the song begins, I've been there!

Anyways, it's time for me to keep on keepin' on...