When I was a new driver, I was frequently confused.

I would see the signs that said “School is out, be careful”. But I thought it said, “School is in, be careful”. I must have been confused.

If by “confused” I meant “stupid”, I was right. Obviously the signs change with the season.

My narrow minded view was that “being careful” could only be associated with one of the two opposites – either be careful because school was in, or school was out. It couldn’t be both – it was illogical. Of course that is wrong, both situations require care in driving. The risks are different – kids travelling to school versus kids playing ball on a road or riding a bike. The risks are also the same – kids are out.

Now, God willing, most of the people you communicate to are a bit quicker on the uptake than me and less likely to be so wed to superficial conclusions than me. But some are.

Lesson for the wise communicator – the market for attention is frequently a cloudy distracted place. Clear signals and a bit of tailoring to the circumstances at hand frequently help interupt the pattern.

In: How to do HR | | #