I just spent a wonderful weekend with 52 boys in my son's Boy Scout Troop. We stayed on board the USS Hornet, a historical aircraft carrier. Aside from the usual Scouting fun I made some communication observations. The volunteer crew of the Hornet was obviously concerned about the safety of the boys. Over and over again you would hear, "Don't Run!" With the other troops on board there must have been over 150 boys there. You can imagine how excited they were and how they were anxious to see everything right away. I think during the first hour I must have heard the phrase, "Don't Run!" over 50 times. Each time not only did the boy that was running hear the command but all the boys and adults in the area did.
So what is the communication implication of this behavior. First it is important to realize that the best way to communicate what behavior you wish to achieve is to state it in the positive. In this case the best way to get the boys to do what they wanted would have been to say, "Walk!" The reason this better is that you are now telling them the behavior you expect from them. As many of you know I am a certified hypnotherapist, and when I took my training in this
field I learned that we will move toward our predominate thought. A good example is if I tell you, "Don't think of a blue tree." The predominate thought is the blue tree. Therefore it is likely that right now you are thinking of a blue tree. In fact you can't, "not think", of a blue tree without thinking of one first. This is important because on the ship this weekend the boys heard over and over again, "Don't Run!" The predominate thought was, "Run",which was very powerful. As a result I observed that the boys continued to run even when told repeatedly.
I observed in another situation at a swimming pool that the lifeguard always told the people to walk. The compliance was very good. I almost never saw the same person run after they
were told once.
How does this apply to safety? Simply this, always try to tell people what you want them to do in a positive way. I understand that some times we must tell someone what not to
do. If that is the case make sure you follow up in order to determine if you are getting the desired behavior. Ask yourself how could you state the behavior in the positive.
Oftentimes we have just been saying it that way so long that we need to stop and think of another way to present it.
Now that this year is almost over we have had several clients contact us to sign up for next years Dynamic Safety Meetings Institute and pay for it out of this year's budget. The three day event will be held October 8,9,10, 2003 in Las Vegas, Nevada. If you would like more information about this outstanding program go to:
http://www.drebinger.com/page/page26.html
Or call our Institute Director,
Sandie Gilbert Toll Free at: 866-373-2464 or 209-747-2770.
For those of you who celebrate Christmas may you have a merry and blessed Christmas. I am grateful every day for each and every one of you who takes the time to read these newsletters.
Have a dynamically safe day,
John Drebinger
