Now that the provincial government is talking seriously about something they like to call transformational change, I thought, dear diary, the concept deserved some serious input, or even, a couple of comments from this corner.
Of course we are coming to realize we can now interpret government’s transformational change, to actually translate into “bigger stuff.”
That means even bigger health regions, larger education divisions and, probably, correspondingly huge geographical and administrative stretches for such things as social and agricultural services.
Everything is bigger and faster these days, from football players to banks and even the way we talk.
“Go big or go home.” How many times have you heard that one?
“Too big to fail,” who could forget that?
“This is a big-time musical event.” It’s never a small musical number.
And then we have our usual every day inputs as we talk with one another. We talk about things in terms of big league, or in contrast, “oh, that’s just minor league, or little league stuff.”
So everything is getting bigger, including people.
So why are airplane seats becoming increasingly smaller? Climbing aboard an aircraft is one of the few times where I thank my lucky stars I was made slightly smaller than the average male person on the planet.
Sometimes swift and sleek beats big, but generally speaking, big wins, even in business. It has even been studied in corporate circles that the taller, bigger people get to climb the corporate ladders more swiftly, even if they don’t deserve to do so, and that includes both men and women.
No big doesn’t always win the race, but they can probably beat up the guy who does. Naturally, he has to catch him first. But, I think I made my point.
So now swift is coming into vogue, and I find that a little disturbing too.
Have you noticed how many fast talkers there are out there? Some of them prattle and rattle on so quickly most of us can only decipher every third word. It’s becoming a common practice on radio and television (especially in the commercials) and in commentaries, not just in hip hop songs. Too many feel it is necessary to talk fast. Regina’s mayor is a fairly decent example of that. He’s a fast talker, not as fast as some, but fast enough. But at least he enunciates well, so most of us get to understand a little bit of what he’s talking about.
It becomes very difficult when a fast talker turns into a mumbler. Or, if a fast talker is loud, it can be irritating. When those things start to happen, I fight the urge to tell them to send me a text. Some actors and several TV commentators are annoyingly fast talkers, which makes me wonder where they received their professional training.
Of course on the reportage circuit, fast talkers, mumblers and shouters pose serious threats to our capabilities to record accurately, whether we are using pen and paper or recording devices. I don’t know how many times I have sat at a fellow-reporter’s desk as we attempted to discern a rapidly delivered verbal barrage picked up by the tiny microphones. More often than not, we’re shrugging shoulders and reaching the conclusion that no matter how vital that statement might have been, it isn’t going to appear in print because we could not transcribe it. Sorry fast, indiscernible talker.
So, bigger, swifter, stronger may be operative words for hockey teams, but when it comes down to communications and every day business, those may not be the ideal goals.
Let’s try clear, concise and co-operative when it comes to business and communications.
