On 9/28/99, at 12:15 PM, Ottley Darron L Contr 388 RANS wrote:
>It is difficult to follow this thread as who is being offended by what.
>Either you are direct and truthful (perhaps offending the more sensetive in
>the process of efficient communication) or you are politically correct and
>ambiguous (perhaps offending those who desire actual information). Either
>is a learned means of communication.
They are not mutually exclusive. I attempt to be direct, truthful, *and* sensitive to my audience. (Most of the time.) It's not that hard; it just takes practice, and empathy.
Why do I bother? Well, why do I communicate in the first place?
All communication results in an emotional response in the other person. Define +5 as extremely positive, 0 as neutral, and -5 as extremely negative. Depending on how I phrase my remarks, I can potentially evoke an emotional response anywhere on that spectrum. Of course, since the other person comes with preconceptions and an emotional history, there is a limit to how much influence you may have on the emotional response.
But the more positive the emotional response you can evoke, the more receptive the person is going to be to what you have to say. They will be more likely to respond to what you've said in accordance with your goals.
And whatever emotional response you evoke will prejudice them further in your favor or against you when you speak to them next.
In the libertarian community, this has been an issue from the beginning. Some people present our message in stark, absolutist terms, without regard for the POV of the other person. This gives the speaker an adrenaline rush of self-righteousness. But it does little to persuade the other person and usually turns them off. And makes them that much less receptive to hearing from the next libertarian they meet.
Why should I care if Crockerians follow Crocker's Rules?
Emotional response *may* cease to be an issue in IA/upload world. But we're not there yet.
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