Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Good intention, bad presentation

Today, boarded a bus. The bus captain (aka driver) could be inexperience and was not comfortable with all the buttons he has to operate before, during, and after each stop. In one stop, he forgot to close one of the bus doors and one teen commuter tried to highlight this. The commuter's intention was good, he cared and worried that someone might be flung out of the moving bus. The commuter said to the captain, "close the door".

However, the above three words were uttered as if the speaker was really irritated (similar to a parent saying something to the kid for the upteepth time). So I wondered. How true it is that kids learn/emulate parents. We sometimes forget that by shouting or speaking in an angry/irritated tone, we aren't actually increasing the efficiency of passing a message. It is rather, diluting the message with distraction (loudness, tone, emotion) for the person on the receiving end. This I'm afraid is contagious, and kids will follow.

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