The Rotary Club of Panjim Riviera annually organises a 4-day camp for the visually challenged. The schedule includes learning of employability skills, fun activities and showcasing the talent of the campers. Upon being invited to conduct a session, I knew my greatest challenge was to ensure that my communication was graspable to my participants.
The experience of work with physically challenged, hearing impaired teams and ‘special’ persons taught me sensitivity, patience and the effective use of body language. But here the additional challenge was to use language that is unambiguous. The following choices helped keep unintelligibility at bay:
• Always identify yourself as well as others by name.
• Do not presume comprehension, confirm it at all times.
• Talk about how and what you are doing so that they can truly see.
• Give clear directions and avoid ambiguous ‘here’ and ‘there’
• Ask if help is needed, do not take for granted.
• Declare that activity is over instead of just moving away.
Amusingly, the above tips help to be better at clear communication with not just sight-impaired persons, but all others as well. Surely, the ability to grasp is greatly dependent on the clarity of graspable communication. And the primary onus rests with the communicator to convey what emerges from the out-of-sight confines of the individual mind.
Let’s BE BETTER at graspable communication
So that our listeners can grasp a clear vision!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
Monday, April 9, 2012
Monday, April 2, 2012
SINKING SCHOLAR
An old fable showcased the scene of a renowned scholar being ferried across a wide river. To impress the boatman, the scholar described his various acquisitions in varied learning. However, when he learnt that the boatman had been only to basic school, he declared, ‘You have wasted half your life by not going to college.’
Mid-stream, the boatman asked him, ‘Sir, did you learn to swim?’ The scholar replied that he never got the time for such things as he was pursuing greater knowledge. The boatman calmly replied, ‘well, in that case, it seems your entire life may go to waste… we are sinking!’
So often, so many of us take undue pride in our qualifications and eventually we deride the know-how of those who may not have certifications such as ours. True knowledge should bring in humility and an open mind towards other learning competencies. Arrogance leads to oversight of our own adequacies.
Learning from books can bring up only so much learning. We need to be better at practical wisdom, too. Of course, scholars would never survive without the handy knowledge possessed by those who toil. After all, earthy wisdom combines knowledge with a useful skill and the right attitude. And the right attitude is one which recognises every competency with the dignity it rightfully deserves.
No lesser are those who own a different proficiency...
Let’s BE BETTER at respecting every competency!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
Mid-stream, the boatman asked him, ‘Sir, did you learn to swim?’ The scholar replied that he never got the time for such things as he was pursuing greater knowledge. The boatman calmly replied, ‘well, in that case, it seems your entire life may go to waste… we are sinking!’
So often, so many of us take undue pride in our qualifications and eventually we deride the know-how of those who may not have certifications such as ours. True knowledge should bring in humility and an open mind towards other learning competencies. Arrogance leads to oversight of our own adequacies.
Learning from books can bring up only so much learning. We need to be better at practical wisdom, too. Of course, scholars would never survive without the handy knowledge possessed by those who toil. After all, earthy wisdom combines knowledge with a useful skill and the right attitude. And the right attitude is one which recognises every competency with the dignity it rightfully deserves.
No lesser are those who own a different proficiency...
Let’s BE BETTER at respecting every competency!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
Monday, March 26, 2012
FRAGRANCE
One of the stories from childhood was of a musk deer which became aware of a sweet scent... seized by a passion to find out the source of the fragrance, it searched far and wide, but in vain... eventually when it lay dying, it realised that the scent it sought came from its own navel...
Unlike the musk deer who, by instinct shares its scent; we humans tend to switch off our fragrance, when we want it. Fragrance oft gets replaced by a repulsive, or at best, an odour of indifference. For us, sharing is conditional or affected by our mood. Oscar Wilde said it so well, ‘some cause happiness wherever they go, others whenever they go’.
The story came to mind on hearing of the untimely death of two exceptional teachers - Matanhy Saldanha and Kasturi Desai - who unconditionally shared their fragrance of learning as well as their passion for the cause of environment. Matanhy rose up to lead path breaking peoples’ movements and become a beacon of hope for fishermen and other activists across the nation; Kasturi latter mixed her Bengali fragarence with the Konkani flavour and won a Sahitya Academy award for translating Mahashweta Devi’s novel.
Indeed, both possessed infectious sincerity and simplicity, a must to develop the attitude of sharing. It is great to have a fragrance worth sharing. But, surely it would be better to share it than merely possess it. Unlike the musk deer, we can make the choice: of discovering our scent and of sharing it, unreservedly... like Matanhy and Kasturi!
Matanhy and Kasturi have shown us the worthy way...
Let’s BE BETTER at sharing our fragrance, every day!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
Unlike the musk deer who, by instinct shares its scent; we humans tend to switch off our fragrance, when we want it. Fragrance oft gets replaced by a repulsive, or at best, an odour of indifference. For us, sharing is conditional or affected by our mood. Oscar Wilde said it so well, ‘some cause happiness wherever they go, others whenever they go’.
The story came to mind on hearing of the untimely death of two exceptional teachers - Matanhy Saldanha and Kasturi Desai - who unconditionally shared their fragrance of learning as well as their passion for the cause of environment. Matanhy rose up to lead path breaking peoples’ movements and become a beacon of hope for fishermen and other activists across the nation; Kasturi latter mixed her Bengali fragarence with the Konkani flavour and won a Sahitya Academy award for translating Mahashweta Devi’s novel.
Indeed, both possessed infectious sincerity and simplicity, a must to develop the attitude of sharing. It is great to have a fragrance worth sharing. But, surely it would be better to share it than merely possess it. Unlike the musk deer, we can make the choice: of discovering our scent and of sharing it, unreservedly... like Matanhy and Kasturi!
Matanhy and Kasturi have shown us the worthy way...
Let’s BE BETTER at sharing our fragrance, every day!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
19 March blog:OPINIONATED
A Zen story tells the tragic tale of widower and his son. Once, when the father was away on business, dacoits raided, burnt down his village and took his little son away. When the man returned, he saw the burnt corpse of an infant. Assuming that his son was killed in the fire, he conducted the last rites and rebuilt his home.
A few days later, his son escaped from the clutches of the dacoits and found his way home. He knocked at the door and called out, ‘Papa, it is me... open the door’. But the distraught father thought that some kid was playing the fool. He shouted, ‘go away!’ After many futile attempts to convince his father that he was alive, the son left the village never to return again.
So often, when we take something to be the truth and cling to it such that even when the truth comes and knocks on our door, we refuse to open it. So often, we hold stubbornly and unreasonably to our own opinions. When we are opinionated we end up in an obstinate and irrational attitude and approach.
It is pertinent to note that a single story based on personal perception lead us to being opinionated. And hence to be better at connecting to the real truth, we must have an open mind that is ever ready to consider the various versions of truth. It is only when we are open to new ideas, thoughts or versions of reality, we choose to break away from the control of overpowering opinionated posturing.
Let’s BE BETTER at escaping the opinionated version...
Instead of unduly adhering to the preconceived notion!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
A few days later, his son escaped from the clutches of the dacoits and found his way home. He knocked at the door and called out, ‘Papa, it is me... open the door’. But the distraught father thought that some kid was playing the fool. He shouted, ‘go away!’ After many futile attempts to convince his father that he was alive, the son left the village never to return again.
So often, when we take something to be the truth and cling to it such that even when the truth comes and knocks on our door, we refuse to open it. So often, we hold stubbornly and unreasonably to our own opinions. When we are opinionated we end up in an obstinate and irrational attitude and approach.
It is pertinent to note that a single story based on personal perception lead us to being opinionated. And hence to be better at connecting to the real truth, we must have an open mind that is ever ready to consider the various versions of truth. It is only when we are open to new ideas, thoughts or versions of reality, we choose to break away from the control of overpowering opinionated posturing.
Let’s BE BETTER at escaping the opinionated version...
Instead of unduly adhering to the preconceived notion!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
Monday, March 12, 2012
WELL-LEFT
‘Well-left’ is a cricketing expression to indicate a batsman’s act of letting the ball go. It refers to the choice of not offering a shot and keeping bat away from ball. Great batsmen are ones who know which balls are best left alone. One such master batsman, Rahul Dravid was called ‘the wall’ for being solid in defence. When he announced his retirement from the game, there was spontaneous appreciation: ‘well left’!
Casual observers of the game find Dravid’s approach to be excessively defensive and one which slowed down the game. But real enthusiasts find such a stance to be impressive and one which makes it possible for the team to score well. Eventual statistics of Dravid’s record 24208 international runs, inclusive of 48 hundreds are a reminder of his tenacity, patience and perseverance.
Knowing what to take on and knowing what to leave alone are the characteristics of a focussed mind. Sustainable success comes from the ability to avoid yielding to every temptation. Like cricket, life is not about scoring on every ball. We must strive to last longer at the crease and go for larger scores. To be better at lasting longer as well doing well, we must know what we need to take on and what we need to leave alone.
Also, we must be better at moving on by letting go. So many organisations have declined because the leaders could not let go of their powers and positions. The urge to do everything and score of every opportunity, makes us lose our sense of perspective and focus. ‘Well-left’ is a conscious choice to be made in sync with an approach that responds differently and aptly to different stimuli.
Indeed, it is focus that makes us truly deft...
Let’s BE BETTER with opting for ‘well-left’!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
Casual observers of the game find Dravid’s approach to be excessively defensive and one which slowed down the game. But real enthusiasts find such a stance to be impressive and one which makes it possible for the team to score well. Eventual statistics of Dravid’s record 24208 international runs, inclusive of 48 hundreds are a reminder of his tenacity, patience and perseverance.
Knowing what to take on and knowing what to leave alone are the characteristics of a focussed mind. Sustainable success comes from the ability to avoid yielding to every temptation. Like cricket, life is not about scoring on every ball. We must strive to last longer at the crease and go for larger scores. To be better at lasting longer as well doing well, we must know what we need to take on and what we need to leave alone.
Also, we must be better at moving on by letting go. So many organisations have declined because the leaders could not let go of their powers and positions. The urge to do everything and score of every opportunity, makes us lose our sense of perspective and focus. ‘Well-left’ is a conscious choice to be made in sync with an approach that responds differently and aptly to different stimuli.
Indeed, it is focus that makes us truly deft...
Let’s BE BETTER with opting for ‘well-left’!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
Monday, March 5, 2012
KNOW-HOW
A trainer observed that his wife took 20 minutes to prepare breakfast, while he scanned the morning papers. Over many days, he made a note of her many trips to the fridge, to the cooking stove, to the dish rack, to the sink... he concluded that his wife’s efficiency was adversely affected by the excessive trips she made to different parts of the kitchen.
One fine day he made an effective decision of sharing his know-how with his wife. He explained to her how she could get everything done in 10 minutes if she were to follow his plan derived from his observations. Since that day, he prepares breakfast in nearly 30 minutes while his wife scans the morning papers!
Besides taking-off on my own tribe and underlining our failure to know the predicament of our spouse, the above scene makes an important statement. To be better at utility, ‘know-how’ needs to be backed by ‘show-how’. To know how to do something better is never enough, never mind the quality of observations made about another’s performance. We must apply our stated solutions to our own actions and test them for their worthiness.
Know-how is about practical knowledge on how to get something done. Know-why (the reasons) and know-what (facts) are important, but theories are confirmed only when put in practice. To state solutions is easy, but to walk the talk is prudent. Surely, it is only through real experience that we will derive the real know-how.
Let’s BE BETTER at really showing how…
Instead of stating theoretical know-how!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
Monday, February 20, 2012
UNJUSTIFIABLE
Four children and others died on Saturday when the bus they were travelling skidded into a river. The driver has been arrested. The bus owner is accused of running an unfit vehicle and authorities who cleared it, are being questioned, too. Indignation is on a high but as time passes, this very emotion will turn effervescent. The unjustifiable will be justified or just be forgotten in the blame game.
In 1993, it was found that the RDX explosives got smuggled into Mumbai, due to the complicity of custom officials. While many were proven to be complicit with the crime, there was one who insisted that he was falsely informed that it was a regular consignment of silver that was being smuggled. Obviously, he found no fault in permitting what he perceived to be a lesser crime.
Degrees cannot be defined in unjustifiable acts. Yet we resort to such excuses when we make choices that are in variance with integrity. We err when we seek to defend the indefensible. What is harmful will eventually turn deadly. But till it turns deadly, we cannot insist that the degree of our action is less harmful.
To be better at being true to what is right and just for all; we must shun every unjustifiable act. We must scrutinise all actions, including our own, through the lens of uprightness, lest we turn accomplices in wrongdoing. This will give us greater strength and consistent conviction when we insist on accountability of every unjustifiable scam.
Let’s BE BETTER at steering clear of every ruse…
Wrongdoing can never be justified by any excuse!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
In 1993, it was found that the RDX explosives got smuggled into Mumbai, due to the complicity of custom officials. While many were proven to be complicit with the crime, there was one who insisted that he was falsely informed that it was a regular consignment of silver that was being smuggled. Obviously, he found no fault in permitting what he perceived to be a lesser crime.
Degrees cannot be defined in unjustifiable acts. Yet we resort to such excuses when we make choices that are in variance with integrity. We err when we seek to defend the indefensible. What is harmful will eventually turn deadly. But till it turns deadly, we cannot insist that the degree of our action is less harmful.
To be better at being true to what is right and just for all; we must shun every unjustifiable act. We must scrutinise all actions, including our own, through the lens of uprightness, lest we turn accomplices in wrongdoing. This will give us greater strength and consistent conviction when we insist on accountability of every unjustifiable scam.
Let’s BE BETTER at steering clear of every ruse…
Wrongdoing can never be justified by any excuse!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
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