Communication Breakdown

If you have an important message to convey, it would seem all gee-duh-RILLY to first know your audience and speak their language, whether that’s English, Swahili or ASL. Can’t manage that? Find a bridge. In my case, if I can’t read your lips and you don’t know ASL or how to fingerspell, write it down. Have horrid handwriting? Open a text doc and keyboard it in.

Here’s the thing, I totes bear responsibility for understanding what’s being said to me. If I see that I’m not grasping, not following, I need to raise the white flag of paper and pen and ask:

könnten Sie bitte aufschreiben?
¿podría escribir eso?
pourriez-vous s'il vous plaît écrire cela?
Bunu yazmak misin?

Yo, can you put pen to paper here for me? Thanks!

Sounds simple, eh? Sure. Of course!

Em, not so fast.

If I blink, sneeze, need to take a moment to put eye drops in (this happens a few times an hour -- since my last big brain do up, I rock the serious Dry Eye Syndrome) or if my attention is elsewhere – maybe I didn’t get enough sleep or I'm consumed with worry about my herd of cat OR perhaps I'm looking at the doc/art under discussion and not at your face – I won’t know that your lips were moving, that you were attempting to communicate with me.

In short -- if my eyes aren’t on your lovely visage I can’t ‘hear’ you. I may not be able to read your lips anyway but seeing them move is the first step.

Communication Breakdown, It's always the same,
I'm having a nervous breakdown, Drive me insane!

Like Wifi and cell phone coverage my connectivity will drop out on occasion and I won't necessarily know when it has. Sometimes I’m gonna miss important instructions and that’s gonna suck for you and me both. The odd mistake is inevitable.

When this has happened, certain individuals, who will not be named here, have assumed that I’m not so bright, a little slow perhaps.

Oh please! I’m no Feynman BUT I’m generally a pretty smart cookie (oatmeal, butterscotch with a sprinkling of spinach, thanks) -- the problem isn’t with my intellect, it’s the input device, my peripheral -- the mic’s irretrievably busted.

Do us deafies a solid, a mitzvah -- don't assume we're simpleminded if we make a mistake or don't understand you. Try speaking, writing, gesturing in a way that can be understood.

We all bear responsibility for effective communication...and shit.