Number 5 of 52 Lifelong Communication Lessons: Problem solving with perspective and distraction
February 02, 2015.jpg) |
| Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho Movie Poster |
The year was 1960.
Harper Lee comes out with To Kill a Mockingbird, Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is playing in theaters and the statue of Lord Stanley is erected in Stanley park.
My first day in grade one was a tad traumatic. With no preschool
or kindergarten training, I was somehow under the assumption that my Mom would be
staying with me. After a mild freak out and some crocodile tears, Mom gave me
her wristwatch to look at. It allowed me to track the time until I was free to
go home again.
That was the first time I remember Mom teaching me about
perspective. She knew words would not console me so the watch provided a good
distraction and focus... at least for a few hours. I was much happier knowing I
could see the time pass and see my end goal.
Communicating to a child, particularly one in distress is a fine
art.
The second time I recall learning about perspective came later
that year. It was the evening before a test. I was stressing about it to mom
during our bedtime chat. She calmly said it would only be one hour out of my
entire life. I laid in bed that night imaging my whole life and grasped the
concept fully. My test seemed to minuscule and unimportant.
Her words play over in my head to this day. Any time I feel
pressure or discomfort in a difficult situation, I immediately see it as a
small piece of my overall life.
My mother had the unique ability through examples or prompts to
help me think things through on my own - even at the ripe old age of six.
She used many techniques to redirect my concerns. When I
complained of being cold while we were sitting at a bus stop, she taught me a
special trick to stay warm. She told me how to, mentally, walk into my stomach
to heat up. I like to think it was an early version of transcendental meditation
but it may purely have been a crafty way to take my mind off the chilly weather.
It worked. After that long journey over the tongue, down the throat, around the
heart, past the lungs and finally into the innards of my belly I was toasty
comfy. By the time the bus arrived, Mom and I were talking about how this trick
could be applied to almost anything. The power to control our own situation was
another startling revelation to me. If we could warm our bodies, imagine what
else we could do. It was such a different perspective on the world. Not
necessarily a good one to relay to your new found school yard chums.
The practice of not focusing on the negative, keeping
perspective and turning attention to a solution have continued to play a big a
part of my personal and work life. Little did we know at that time I would
spend a good chunk of my career doing crisis communication.
Communication lessons: When you are in a situation where somebody is stressed, help
them keep it all in perspective, not
only in relation to their own life but in the scheme of all time. Distraction
can sometimes be the best communication strategy.
Fast forward to 2015: Perhaps if we truly looked at issues in context, they wouldn't get blown
out of perspective. Consider today's media coverage of viruses such as Ebola and the opinions presented on social media by those like Donald Trump.
The next year we visit will be 1970.
The next year we visit will be 1970.
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