Page 59 - The Voice of Authority

chapter 3

Is It Clear?

A great many people think that
polysyllables are a sign of intelligence.
—Barbara Walters

ou can’t just go anywhere at any time you like,” the
warden at the federal prison in Yuma, Arizona, ex-
Yplained to the soon-to-be parolee. “You’re going to
be wearing an ankle sensor to allow the parole officer to
monitor your whereabouts. You’ll be allowed to leave your
house between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. for work. But other than
that, you’ll have only a small window of opportunity to
leave your house. Do you understand?”
“Yeah. Just which window should I use?” the convict
asked.
Conversations around your conference table sometimes
may not be much clearer than this miscommunication the
prison warden shared with me after a keynote in his city.
Both written and spoken snafus surface everywhere. The
difference between safe operations and tragedy may hinge
on a garbled statement, a single misused word, an unstated
assumption, an invalid conclusion, a euphemism, or a
nonverbal cue that nixes the verbal.

Is It Clear? 47

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