RIGHT TURN
Get your facts right and communicate effectively
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Take on students' test of nerves
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Expert tips: For communicating effectively one has to be brief and factual.
When I was referring to Dandi march by Mahatma Gandhi in 1930 A.D. my lecture was interrupted by a seventh class student, “Sir, what do we mean by A.D?” she asked. After my clarification, she came out with another doubt, “A person was born when Jesus Christ was thirteen years old. Does he belong to A.D or B.C?”
I was taken aback, confessed my ignorance and verified on return to know my mistake. A.D. does not mean “after death,” as many people (including me) suppose. It stands for a Latin phrase: anno domini (the year Jesus was born). I sent her the correct answer through mail.
Correct and concise
There are five C’s of communication, foremost being correctness of ‘fact’ and its ‘presentation’. Never speak unless you are sure of its truth. Present it without grammatical mistakes and wrong usage of words like “I like to administrate (administer) disinterested (uninterested) people and invaluable (valueless) products…” Same way, never get confused with identical words with different meaning like “affect and effect”, “substitute and replace”. Suppose a person asks you, “Why don’t you replace the sugar for honey?” how do you understand it, if he actually means ‘substituting honey for the sugar’?
“Conciseness” is the second key to effective communication. You said, “I turned around 360 degrees to see who was standing behind me.”
When you turn 360 degrees you would complete a circle and are back to the original. This is first mistake. The usage of word ‘turn-around’ itself denotes what you want to say. The word ‘180 degrees’ is redundant. Don’t use long phrases when they can be replaced by shorter ones. Practice brevity.
Rewrite the following letter in two sentences avoiding irrelevant details. “Dad..! I don’t want to give more details of my expenditure. I am in need of money. Send me some amount before this weekend. Send me at least five hundred rupees. Don’t send cheque. It takes more than three days for collection. Hence I will be happy to receive the draft.” We will discuss other elements of communication next week.
Gift for students
“If you were given a chance to be an animal or bird for a day, which one you prefer to be?” Write “ten” sentences supporting your reason and wish, and send it to the address below. Based on the clarity, brevity and creativeness three winners will be awarded my book “Nurturing Intelligence”.
YANDAMOORI VEERENDRANATH
Yveerendranath@gmail.com
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