On communication, professional and otherwise.
by David Murray // 1 Comment
As the morning workflurry slows down, I get an e-mail telling me there's a comment on this blog, and I rush over to comment on the comment.
After writing the comment and posting it, I check my e-mail because it's been five minutes since I have done so.
Hark! A new e-mail! Holy smoke, I'm drinking through a fire-hose of reader input!
Alas, it's my blog again, delivering me the news that "A new comment from 'David Murray' was received …."
by David Murray // 4 Comments
I'm having my motorcycle mechanic install special exhaust pipes on my motorcycle that will make it louder—for safety reasons, of course.
When Scout got wind of this project, she objected strongly.
"That's rude," she said.
"What's rude?"
"Telling your mechanic to make your motorcycle louder. His job is to make motorcycles better, not louder."
"And making it louder is making it worse?
"Yes, and you shouldn't ask him to make it worse."
So far, she hadn't said anything wrong.
I thought a minute.
"What if I tell the mechanic to 'enhance the engine's volume'?"
"That's better," Scout instantly agreed, and happily dropped the subject.
by David Murray // 4 Comments
Marshal McLuhan famously said, "The medium is the message."
Clearly, McLuhan was talking out of his ass.
(Here is what is true about the medium and the message:
The medium influences, sometimes profoundly, how the message is perceived.
The message can't be separated from the medium that conveys it.
Some types of media and some kinds of messages mix well. Some don't.
Them are some important insights. But, especially for professional communicators, it's important to distinguish medium from message—communication vehicle from communication content.
So next time one of these technobabblers mindlessly says, "The medium is the message," let's retort, "Then why do we have different words for them?")