April 11, 2008This Week in the World ~ Disagreeing disagreeably

Filed under: This Week in the World by merylrunion |

Last week I received an angry email from someone who took issue with points I made in a press release. While her focus struck me a tangential to my main point, she did have some valid observations. What made the dialogue difficult was that instead of politely pointing out what she considered to be inaccuracies, she drew sweeping conclusions about me and my integrity. Here is one such remark.

- I guess it further proves the old adage about those who can, do, while those who can’t, teach.

While I did manage to soften the tone of the dialogue, it struck me how much her tone inhibited what I was willing to share with her. I had back channel information I thought she might appreciate, but since she wasn’t cutting me any slack and interpreted my remarks in the worst possible light, I was unwilling to extend myself as I would have had she been more gracious in her observations.

Grace makes all the difference. Today I got a call from someone who automatically gave me the benefit of the doubt. It was a speaker’s bureau representative who had been told that I didn’t seem to know I was presenting for them on Monday. She opened the conversation by saying,

I’m sure there’s a miscommunication here.

We laughed about the misunderstanding. It’s so much nicer to communicate with people who assume innocence until you’re proven guilty.

My email critic accused me of not practicing what I preach. She was wrong on that point. I do practice it. I just don’t always perfect it, and sometimes I don’t practice very well.

Knowing that I live and breathe this stuff and still make errors, I don’t expect others to “get it right” either. But I sure appreciate it when they try. I love my readers. Most of you really do try, and I thank you for that.