"Corporations are the world"

My car needed servicing so I dropped it off at the dealer then a nice shuttle driver drove me where I wanted to go while I wait.

"Can drop me off at Trader Joe's?," I asked.

"Sure, are you going to the mall after? Should I pick you up there later?" he asked.

"No, I will be at the University of Vermont. Can you pick me up there?"

"Sure, but it will be a different driver. What are you doing over there?"

"Well, I am going to table for Citizens Climate Lobby." I didn't add that we were tabling because it was the press event for the release of the Vermont Climate Assessment report. I was trying to keep it simple.

"What's that? What do you do?" he asked.

So I started talking about the carbon fee and dividend. It was very quickly clear that I was talking with a climate change denier--a very pleasant denier, but a denier none the less.

"I just don't think we should tax corporations." He answered. "Oil and gas have done so much for us we can't punish them for that. I just hate taxing corporations. If we tax corporations they will get sick of us and they will go away. Just look at IBM. Corporations are the world!"

That seemed like a fear-based comment to me after thinking about it. Yes, corporations make a lot of stuff happen in our world, but that shouldn't mean that we can't demand they act ethically. Not causing destruction on a global scale is good ethics.

He made other comments such as: the science is debatable on climate change. He didn't believe that we are having more extreme weather, or that winters are getting milder. He said even if the climate is changing he didn't think it was because of fossil fuels. The Japan earthquake shifted the Earth on its axis. Doesn't that have anything to do with it? The scientist haven't taken that into consideration.

I acknowledged that yes oil and gas has done a lot for civilization, however we now know that using it is killing our planet. Since we know better so it's time to change the business model. I assured him that yes, the scientists have taken into consideration factors such as the natural wobbles of the earth's axis and even that earthquake event that shifted the earth.

I told him how the carbon fee and dividend would put money in his pocket. I told him how it would spur development and investment in fossil fuel alternatives. Maybe he can't afford an electric car now, but after a few years of a carbon tax he probably can because prices will come down.

We even ended up talking about how the climate was different when dinosaurs were on the earth but it was fine for them. I explained how yes, the death of the dinosaurs and the sequestration of their bodies and plant matter at the time allowed the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere to decrease to a level that made the planet safe for humans. Dinosaurs turned into fossil fuels, and by unlocking that carbon dioxide from the earth we have thrown the atmosphere, that we humans have enjoyed so much, out of balance. Even if we keep burning fossil fuels some form of life will exist on earth, it just won't be humans.

Still, the only thing that seem to get through to him was the explanation that scientists have determined that the "safe" level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is 350 ppm. We recently exceeded 400 ppm and are adding 2 ppm each year. He used to serve on an Air Resources Board in New York so that was something he could appreciate. A small win!

Despite feeling overwhelmed at his denial and unprepared on where to even start in responding to his denial during a 10 minute car ride, it was still a fine conversation.

"Why do you bother with those people?" my husband asked when I told him about it back at home.

Because it keeps me on my toes. And, we need to convert some of those people we are to win this climate fight.

School Struggles and Solutions

I missed my son's (preschool) parent-teacher conference. Really. It would have been last week but I just found out today.

How did this happen? "It was announced in an email, and there was a sign up sheet on the door," the teacher said. 

I didn't see that email or the sign up sheet.

I was pissed. Disappointed in myself for missing that email. Angry at the failure of the school to communicate better. I went home and searched my email. The only mention of parent-teacher conferences was one line in a list of things in an email sent at the end of October. Sign up sheets on "the door" are just white paper tacked with one thumbtack to a white door, they curl, they are indistinct. Drop off and pick up times are chaotic as the tiny and cluttered entryway fills up with kids, younger siblings and parents. We shuffle to get out of each others way while changing shoes, putting on winter gear, packing backpacks and admiring artwork.

I talk to the teacher almost every day. Didn't she notice I had not signed up and perhaps thought it was worth a check in?

Maybe I'm at fault here and being overbearing by expecting better communication from the school, except I know this stuff happens all the time. Just last month some parents showed up for pick up and were surprised that it was the Open House Luncheon.

But I'm a proactive person. Rather than stewing on the failure, I noticed that there is an underused bulletin board above the parent mailboxes already. I asked the teacher if she would post all the parent information there: announcements, sign up sheets, daily activities, and a list of upcoming important dates. This would just reinforce the emails and put all the info in one convenient spot.

She thought it was a good idea and said she would do it. Problem solved.

Are you a good communicator?

I went to my doctor's office the other day. I walked in behind a gentleman who opened the door for me since I was pushing my daughter in a stroller. The receptionist behind the counter looked at me and suddenly said "Go ahead." while gesturing toward the other counter where the man had gone. I must have given her a confused look because she followed up with, "You're with him, right?"

"No," I replied. I went closer to her counter and she gave me a somewhat blank look.
"I have an appointment." I began.
"Oh, I was just trying to figure out if you were here for the flu clinic."
"No, but I should get a flu shot actually.... My appointment is [blah blah blah]."

This was, in my mind, an unacceptable exchange. A good communicator (and good customer service worker) would have just said something like, "Hello, may I help you?" Then this whole bizarre and confusing situation could have been avoided and gone much more smoothly.

At the same time that I was having a hard time with the receptionist, another man was having a hard time checking out.
"Do you have a co-pay, sir?" the check-out woman asked.
The man was confused, so eventually the check-out woman asked to see his card.
"It says here that you have a $15 co-pay." she stated.
The man said something like, "Oh, ok. Do you want it now?"
"Yes, you have a $15 co-pay, it says so right here on your card."

This same exchange repeated about three times. The man was clearly still confused, but each time the only thing the check-out woman changed was the tone of her voice which was increasingly annoyed. She even gave a wary look over to the receptionist and I and her eyes were saying this guy is an idiot. Finally she curtly explained "Yes, I need it now. That's what a co-pay is."

These are very specific examples and could be considered to be simple customer-service issues, but I've witnessed similar communication failures in personal/non-business conversations as well.

So, my conclusions are that to be a good communicator you have to:

1. Clearly state what your objective is. As I tell my son, "Use your words." Don't say partial phrases or give looks and body gestures and expect the other person to know what you want.

2. If someone doesn't understand you the first time, find a new way to say it. Saying the same words over and over in an increasingly annoyed/flabbergasted tone does nothing to help you or the poor, confused person you're trying to talk with. I remember doing exercises in middle school on things like this. People understand things in different ways, so sometimes you have to change your method in order to reach them. No excuses. Take initiative to be a good communicator.

These are just two examples I thought of. Do you have any other tips on how to be a good communicator?