Timing

Is there a definitive answer to what all of us refer to as "good timing?" I think not. I have known incidents when the timing of something has been awful, yet everything worked out. A simple example would be a graduate class I once took because it was a requirement. The timing of it was not good as I had other plans that were making my schedule busier than I really wanted it to be. Still, I took the class. It all worked out all right, though not without a lot of effort, as I passed it, earned three credit hours more toward graduating, and still was able to take care of the other things to which I had already obligated myself. Bad timing. Positive results.

As I write this, it is mid-November. Already I have been hearing Christmas music being played in various stores as well as seen a number of holiday decorations at various establishments as well as outside a few homes in the neighborhood. Is this good timing? Will these various overtures increase sales and put more cheer into the hearts of people? Or will people continue going about their normal routines without any noticeable change in their buying habits or moods? If that is the case, then perhaps the timing of this current holiday celebrating might not be all that effective. Again, who's to say?

One of the key ingredients into effective communication is timing. A communicator can create a catchy message and unveil it in a powerful way, but if the intended audience or public is not either ready for it or is focusing on something else, then the potential impact of that message is compromised. There is no specific formula for when communication overtures should be timed. Decisions as to when to either launch something or reach out to another is the result of trial and error and instinctual. One collects their data on timing based largely on  missteps and false starts. That may not seem as definitive as we might like, but it is better than making a wild guess.