Guruprasad Nagarajan's Blog - Posts Tagged "communication"
Screw clarity
Studying in Tamil medium until 10th standard, I used to be in awe of students from English medium classes when they rattled off in that foreign language so fluently. It was fascinating to hear the words roll off their tongues in an incomprehensible cadence. Incomprehensible because it made no sense at all to me. It was the speed with which the words tumbled off that was impressive.
It was then I decided that I would one day learn to speak English as fluently and effortlessly as these gifted students. And fast, of course faster. Much faster.
Because I was led to believe that the faster you spoke, the better you were at it, and if clarity was compromised, so be it. This unwritten rule was lauded every time a relative, a friend or a famous personality was caught spewing torrents of words in English.
For instance, people used to narrate the example of a famous politician from Tamil Nadu who went to the US and asked a random guy for 'Ten ton tin', and they were extremely impressed when the newspaper (allegedly) reported that the American dude did not understand a word of what the politician said (even though there were just three, if you think about it). A similar sort of veneration to speed over clarity was extended to a quiz guy on TV. Even though no one had a clue to what he was rattling off, they were suitably impressed all the same (reminds me of Catch 22 line, 'If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit).
This made me wonder: Why would you go to a foreign country and speak the native language so fast that even three words were hard to understand? If confusing the other guy was the agenda, then he might as well have spoken in Swahili (the guy might have understood him, probably), I felt.
Isn't the point of communication clarity? That when I say something, you understand what I'm saying? Apparently not.
Which brings me to Japan. I've been there quite a few times over the years, and my wife and I get by beautifully with a point and speak book. It's a wonderful little book that has pictures of food, vegetables, buses and trains,beverages and dishes, names of cities and destination. And the descriptions are in Japanese and English so we are on the same page, so to speak. If I want to go to a particular place, I point to the page that says, 'Please take me to ...' and fill in the blank orally and he takes me there. I order food by pointing to the pictures. I can 'talk' to anyone. They don't know English and I don't know Japanese. It works brilliantly. And it does away with not only speed, but whole sentences. I say 'no fish, no meat', they scratch their heads and say, 'shrimpu?' I say no, they say 'gomennasai' and I walk to the next shop. Simple. The way it should be, eh?
It was then I decided that I would one day learn to speak English as fluently and effortlessly as these gifted students. And fast, of course faster. Much faster.
Because I was led to believe that the faster you spoke, the better you were at it, and if clarity was compromised, so be it. This unwritten rule was lauded every time a relative, a friend or a famous personality was caught spewing torrents of words in English.
For instance, people used to narrate the example of a famous politician from Tamil Nadu who went to the US and asked a random guy for 'Ten ton tin', and they were extremely impressed when the newspaper (allegedly) reported that the American dude did not understand a word of what the politician said (even though there were just three, if you think about it). A similar sort of veneration to speed over clarity was extended to a quiz guy on TV. Even though no one had a clue to what he was rattling off, they were suitably impressed all the same (reminds me of Catch 22 line, 'If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit).
This made me wonder: Why would you go to a foreign country and speak the native language so fast that even three words were hard to understand? If confusing the other guy was the agenda, then he might as well have spoken in Swahili (the guy might have understood him, probably), I felt.
Isn't the point of communication clarity? That when I say something, you understand what I'm saying? Apparently not.
Which brings me to Japan. I've been there quite a few times over the years, and my wife and I get by beautifully with a point and speak book. It's a wonderful little book that has pictures of food, vegetables, buses and trains,beverages and dishes, names of cities and destination. And the descriptions are in Japanese and English so we are on the same page, so to speak. If I want to go to a particular place, I point to the page that says, 'Please take me to ...' and fill in the blank orally and he takes me there. I order food by pointing to the pictures. I can 'talk' to anyone. They don't know English and I don't know Japanese. It works brilliantly. And it does away with not only speed, but whole sentences. I say 'no fish, no meat', they scratch their heads and say, 'shrimpu?' I say no, they say 'gomennasai' and I walk to the next shop. Simple. The way it should be, eh?
Lord Hanuman, the art of communication and Jonathan Ive
“Communication is about being pithy and telegraphic”, my eighth grade teacher used to tell us while teaching a portion of the Indian epic, Ramayana (the Kamba Ramayana version). “And no one does this better than Lord Hanuman.”
When Lord Hanuman came back to Lord Ram and his army after completing his mission to Lanka as a messenger, the first words he uttered were: “Found Sita”. Not a word more. Nothing on the numerous hardships and problems he faced on his trip.
A little background to this portion of the story: Before Lord Ram and his army crossed the ocean to Lanka, they wanted to send a messenger of peace first. Hanuman was chosen and he flew across. On the way, he faced a multitude of problems: a mountain rose hindering his flight; a monster challenged him to enter through her mouth; another fought with him unprovoked and was defeated. On entering the enemy country, he still faced many challenges. He was insulted, ill-treated and was almost executed but spared when the king’s brother intervened. Instead of being executed, his tail was set on fire and he was dragged all over the city. But when he flew back to Lord Ram and the army, all he said were those two pithy words: “Found Sita”
“The point to note”, said my teacher, “is that Hanuman never once mentioned, not even hinted at all the hardships he faced or how he overcame them. Not even the bit about getting nearly executed. All he said was that he found Sita. Because that was the point of the mission. That was brevity in communication. That was what needed to be said.”
Which somehow reminds me what Jonathan Ive said about design in the documentary, Objectified (a must-watch documentary btw): “When you see the indicator come on, I wouldn’t expect anybody to point to it as a feature, but at some level I think you are aware of a calm and considered solution that speaks about how you are going to use it, not the terrible struggles that we as designers and engineers had in trying to solve some of the problems”.
When Lord Hanuman came back to Lord Ram and his army after completing his mission to Lanka as a messenger, the first words he uttered were: “Found Sita”. Not a word more. Nothing on the numerous hardships and problems he faced on his trip.
A little background to this portion of the story: Before Lord Ram and his army crossed the ocean to Lanka, they wanted to send a messenger of peace first. Hanuman was chosen and he flew across. On the way, he faced a multitude of problems: a mountain rose hindering his flight; a monster challenged him to enter through her mouth; another fought with him unprovoked and was defeated. On entering the enemy country, he still faced many challenges. He was insulted, ill-treated and was almost executed but spared when the king’s brother intervened. Instead of being executed, his tail was set on fire and he was dragged all over the city. But when he flew back to Lord Ram and the army, all he said were those two pithy words: “Found Sita”
“The point to note”, said my teacher, “is that Hanuman never once mentioned, not even hinted at all the hardships he faced or how he overcame them. Not even the bit about getting nearly executed. All he said was that he found Sita. Because that was the point of the mission. That was brevity in communication. That was what needed to be said.”
Which somehow reminds me what Jonathan Ive said about design in the documentary, Objectified (a must-watch documentary btw): “When you see the indicator come on, I wouldn’t expect anybody to point to it as a feature, but at some level I think you are aware of a calm and considered solution that speaks about how you are going to use it, not the terrible struggles that we as designers and engineers had in trying to solve some of the problems”.
