Pulling Weeds

Pulling weeds is my not favorite activity. But it is far from being on the low end of the totem poll of chores on my to-do list during the spring and summer seasons. Even though it does have its own set of challenges, pulling weeds can be quite calming, even relaxing. The task itself is pretty straightforward. You spot a weed and then yank it out of the ground. The real challenge comes in being able to separate the weeds from flowers and other garden varieties around which they sprout. Once you can do that, then pulling weeds is as tension-free and as direct as shutting off a television, closing a drawer or answering a telephone.

The field of communication has weeds, too. They come in several primary forms: blowhards, smooth talkers and liars. On the surface, one would think each is easy to spot. But the truth is that is not often the case. Take blowhards. They talk tough. They talk loud. They tend to dominate most any dialog or conversation. Because of their shamelessness and bravado, these men and women even generate followers who assume the high wind behind the blowhard must mean he or she knows what they are talking about. Smooth talkers are trickier simply because they are articulate and seem so sincere. They are also polite. People like that. Finally, liars can be equally tricky, particularly when they weave facts into their fiction. Good liars do this really well, thus often making it difficult to see them for what they really are.

The best way to recognize these weeds is to focus on the content of what they are saying. Does what they are saying ring true? Does it make sense? Is what they are saying more about putting others down, then anything else? Do not allow yourself to be distracted by their communication style or give their style greater weight than what it is they are actually saying. The hope of these weeds is that is exactly what you will do. Once they have you focusing on their style, then it becomes easier for them to incorporate half and non-truths into their messages. You are just as smart as they are. And if they are talking about something that you don't quite know all that much about, then either tap into other sources, do some homework or both. Expanding your own knowledge base is the best defense against communication weeds. The good news is once you become good at identifying these kind of weeds, then they are just as easy to dispatch than the ones that grown in our gardens and yards.