Yikes

One of the realities of life is that things do not always go as planned. No, I am not talking about Hillary Clinton, though she is a perfect example. As I write this, her lead in the 2016 Presidential election in the popular vote is approaching two million votes. But thanks to the electoral college, it is Donald Trump who will be taking the oath of office in mid-January. An equally-dramatic though far less consequential example involves Charles Rowan, a South African magician famous in the 1930s. "Charles the Magician" had an idea for a trick where he would have to escape from a straight jacket in front of a car moving toward him at approximately 25 miles per hour. Given the starting point of the car, Charles had about 15 seconds to perform his great escape. Alas, Charles was not able to perform his magic in-time. End of trick. End of Charles. Yikes. And then there was the young Polish magician whose trick was to slam his hand down without injury on several upturned nails positioned inside three paper bags. The first two baps went perfectly; so perfectly, he invited the host of the show to slam her hand down on the third bag. What could go wrong?  Sadly, this young lady now knows what it is like to have nails literally driven through her hand. Yikes indeed.

Tragic incidences such as these can be avoided by better planning and more common sense.  (I am still not talking about Hillary Clinton though I could be.) Instead, I am speaking to all professional communicators everywhere. When it comes to trying to connect and remain so with others, lots can go wrong. The unexpected can happen. (In large measure, that is part of the magic about people.) At times, professional communicators can and do get cocky because, at times, they are so certain of their ability to persuade and convinced their intended audience can easily be influenced or swayed. Not so. Yes, I am finally talking about Hillary Clinton. Not one of her spokespeople had any clue her campaign was going to be unsuccessful. Confidence is good but arrogance is not. It is perfect example, according to Matt Taibbi, the great reporter from Rolling Stone magazine, of what happens when experts are so busy talking with each other they spend far too little time listening to the folks whom they are trying to reach.