Risk

There are few things more enjoyable than a nice walk across the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City (Where else?) on a sunny afternoon. Lots of fellow walkers along with bike riders helped make it a fun jaunt. Without question, if I lived in NY, I would try and make this scenic walk a regular part of my week. But this is not to say every sight I saw while on the bridge brought a smile to my face. At one point, I saw a pretty young girl posing for a photo. The problem with that she had propped herself on one of the bridge's railings for the picture. One unexpected occurrence such as being bumped by another walker and she would have fallen to the lower level of the bridge that cars use to go over the bridge. Had that happened, this young girl's story no doubt would have been over.   

Fortunately, that did not happen. The picture was taken, she hopped down from her temporary perch, and then continued walking with her friend. My guess she will share the photo with family and friends and it will elicit lots of smiles and positive comments. Just as easily, of course, what turned out all right could have been far more tragic. If I had to make another guess, I would say the girl and her friend considered that option only briefly as they figured nothing like that would happen. After all, the photo would take just a few moments. What, they must have asked themselves, could go wrong?

When it comes to communication, often times most of us belief we have everything under control. We will say what we are going to say, folks will hear our words, and understand our meaning. Again, what could go wrong? In a word: plenty. The fact is people being people hear and process messages from their own perspectives. Rarely do their vantage points totally line up with ours. Such a reality makes the possibility of misunderstanding and disagreement all the greater. This is why we all must be as vigilant as possible to think before we attempt to communicate. How will my comments resonate with others? Is there a way I can articulate my thoughts to avoid conflict? It is a simple matter of better assessing the potential risk of what we try to say.