Friday, May 19, 2006

Speaking Of Communication, Who Is This Guy?!?

This could not wait until next week! This guy [actually his name is Guy Goma] showed up at the British Broadcasting Company [BBC] for an interview for IT job. Watch the live televised interview before reading the rest of this post.

You did it watch it, right?!?

Well, as it turns out there was a mix-up because two guys named Guy showed up for interviews—one was there for an on-air discussion about online music; the other was applying for a job. The receptionist made a mistake. She thought Guy Goma was a different guy [Guy Kewney] who is an expert and was actually scheduled to discuss a trademark lawsuit over Apple Computer’s use of a logo in its online music store – iTunes. Unfortunately for the BBC [and fortunately for us], it interviewed Mr. Goma about the lawsuit, on live TV!

Now, watch it again – look at Mr. Goma’s expression when he realized he was the “wrong guy” and appreciate how smooth he was in continuing with the interview! Notice the interviewer missing his expression and, undaunted, just marching forward! Maybe she had no choice – it was live TV.

All to say, as mediators don’t we always have to check for the shared meaning of words to make sure we’re all on the same page? Well, sure we do! Remember my mantra – nothing is as it seems nor is it otherwise! Huh?!?

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