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Communicating
A patrol leader sent two Scouts on an errand from camp. Rusty
and Bruce did fine until they came to a stream.
"Hey, where ya going'?''
"Leader said turn left."
"He did not. He said turn right
here."
"No, that was back there. By the
clearing. He said when we get to the stream, we turn left."
"No he didn't. But go ahead, wise
guy. I'll see you there."
So Rusty turned right and Bruce
turned left. They were soon out of sight of each other. Bruce
followed directions and reached their destination in a few
minutes. When he arrived there, he found no Rusty. Half an hour
later, still no Rusty. Bruce finally raced down the trail back
to camp, got help, and they began searching. It took 2 hours to
find Rusty. He had taken the wrong turn at the stream, soon lost
the trail, and couldn't get back.
Why did this happen? Here are some
possibilities. Which do you think was the problem: Rusty didn't
listen to the patrol leader's instructions. Rusty thought he
under stood the directions when he really didn't. The patrol
leader gave poor directions. The patrol leader should have made
sure both boys knew the directions. Now let's consider each of
these statements. Rusty didn't listen. This may be true. But the
patrol leader didn't know that Rusty didn't listen or, at least,
he didn't find out whether he did or not. Rusty thought he
understood. This is probably true. He was pretty convinced when
he argued with Bruce. But we must ask how the patrol leader
managed to let him go away with the wrong idea. The patrol
leader gave poor directions. Bruce got them right, so they were
OK to him. But since only one of the two boys understood the
directions, we have to suspect that they might not have been
perfectly clear. The patrol leader should have made sure. This
is certainly true. If he had made Rusty repeat the directions,
he would have found where "right" replaced "left."
Whatever happened, we need look at
the results. Information wasn't given and received properly. The
job didn't get done. (And the search for Rusty prevented some
other jobs from getting done.) Besides, the confused information
began to affect the way members of the group felt about each
other. This kind of thing threatens the group's morale and
effectiveness How could this misunderstanding of one word have
been prevented? Check any of the following that would have
helped if the patrol leader had done them:
To He made sure both boys were paying attention before he gave
directions.
• He spoke slowly and clearly.
• He had Rusty and Bruce make a diagram and write the directions
in a notebook.
• He had the boys repeat their instructions. You probably
checked all of them. And you are right. Any one of them might
have prevented the misunderstanding. Notice that leaders both
give and get information. Communication happens both ways.
How can you apply these ideas
in your leader‑ship tasks? Easy. To improve your skills in
getting information follow these rules: "Pay
attention" and listen carefully.
Make notes and sketches.
Ask questions and
repeat your understanding of
what was said. To improve your skills in
giving
information, there is a similar set of guidelines: Make sure the
others are listening before
you start giving information. Speak
slowly and clearly. Draw diagrams and pictures and
have those receiving the instructions make notes. Have the
others repeat back their
understanding of the information. From time to time you can
check yourself to see whether you are improving in the skill of
getting and giving information.
Ask yourself these questions:
Are your Scouts forgetting less?
Do they take notes regularly?
Do they ask questions when in doubt?
Do you take notes yourself and
review them to be sure you don't forget things?
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