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But there are ways of eliciting critical thought about the choices made and even about alternatives that the person in power has. It is "bad communication" in

by Etzos 10y ago

But there are ways of eliciting critical thought about the choices made and even about alternatives that the person in power has. It is "bad communication" in that the person in power is communicating their desire in a way that is perceived, even if just a little bit, as being a command. And I do believe there are effective ways to mitigate this.

dietrichepp 10y ago
This conversation is a great example of bad communication, if you want a reference. Communication is not just about how you communicate, but when. Good communicators know how and when to listen, and they keep their mouth shut when it's appropriate. That's the lesson of this article. If that's not a problem for you—if you know when to speak and when to listen—then maybe this article won't help you, personally. And if my manager was always trying to elicit critical thought about trivial and mundane matters like font choice and colors on internal tools, then I'd want them to just shut up for a moment. I'd be glad to hear what your effective mitigation strategies are for giving unnecessary advice.
- Etzos 10y ago
  I think the issue I have is that the author is taking an all or nothing approach. Either something is all wrong and a larger discussion must be had or nothing is worth noting. There is a huge range of things in between there, many of which may be small opinions. After reading the article a few more times and the comments here, I'm getting the impression the author meant "don't add pointless opinions or suggestions to things." The use of the phrase "my two cents" beguiles the author's intent, as in many cases that phrase is not used when one has a pointless opinion.
  - dietrichepp 10y ago
    Yes, I've heard the "my two cents" phrase used with important or strongly-held convictions, but that's just an ironic use of the phrase to mean the opposite of what it usually means, no? It may also be a dialect issue, like the old "let's table this" problem. I was definitely not reading "all or nothing" from the article, more of "if you only have something trivial to say, don't bother." Hence, don't give your two cents, but put a dollar in when it matters.

by Etzos 10y ago

dietrichepp 10y ago

This conversation is a great example of bad communication, if you want a reference. Communication is not just about how you communicate, but when. Good communicators know how and when to listen, and they keep their mouth shut when it's appropriate. That's the lesson of this article. If that's not a problem for you—if you know when to speak and when to listen—then maybe this article won't help you, personally. And if my manager was always trying to elicit critical thought about trivial and mundane matters like font choice and colors on internal tools, then I'd want them to just shut up for a moment. I'd be glad to hear what your effective mitigation strategies are for giving unnecessary advice.

Etzos 10y ago
I think the issue I have is that the author is taking an all or nothing approach. Either something is all wrong and a larger discussion must be had or nothing is worth noting. There is a huge range of things in between there, many of which may be small opinions. After reading the article a few more times and the comments here, I'm getting the impression the author meant "don't add pointless opinions or suggestions to things." The use of the phrase "my two cents" beguiles the author's intent, as in many cases that phrase is not used when one has a pointless opinion.
- dietrichepp 10y ago
  Yes, I've heard the "my two cents" phrase used with important or strongly-held convictions, but that's just an ironic use of the phrase to mean the opposite of what it usually means, no? It may also be a dialect issue, like the old "let's table this" problem. I was definitely not reading "all or nothing" from the article, more of "if you only have something trivial to say, don't bother." Hence, don't give your two cents, but put a dollar in when it matters.