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SAY WHAT YOU MEAN AND MEAN WHAT YOU SAY^*

By Phil Bartle, PhD

Training Handout

Always Say What You Mean and Always Mean What You Say

At first glance, this appears to be a specific example of being honest. Yet it goes farther than that.

Community mobilization is an activity fraught with “Promise and Fail.” It is also one where community members, including journalists and politicians, make incorrect assumptions about what you bring to the community. Both of those cause disappointments, dejection and loss of community spirit. They also cause frustration and depression for the mobiliser.

The solutions to this include many preventions. These include for you to repeat clearly what you can and can not do for the community. Another is to counteract incorrect ideas as soon as you hear of them.

The one we talk about here has a lot to do with your reputation. You need to develop a reputation for being a “straight talker.” You say what you mean and you mean what you say. It is very easy in this activity to make hints and implications that will incorrectly raise the hopes and expectations of community members. You must carefully examine the things you are saying to detect if there are any statements that imply more than you mean. You need to develop phrases and sentences that are more accurate, precise and without implications, and say them often.

This is not easy, but who said community mobilization was easy?

It is easier to give soft words hinting promise, rather than cold clear facts. But those hints reap a crop of woes that will help to lower your health and happiness. They lie on the path to failure. Choose a better, wiser path.

*Note: My good friend and spiritual twin, Irish, added this to the slogan: "But do not say it mean."

© Copyright 1967, 1987, 2007 Phil Bartle
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Last update: 2012.03.23