allAfrica.com: Mauritius: we must learn to communicate (Page 1 of 1)

Many events lately have demonstrated that, notwithstanding sophisticated instrumentalities of communication, there is a decline of successful interpersonal communication. Listening is a skill which we have not been trained to develop. Too often messages are received in a distorted form, so much so that the impact of a statement is found to produce monstrous results. Listening implies the evacuation of preconceived opinions and being available for the other. What happens in reality ? The interlocutor is so stuffed with himself, so engrossed with what his views are that he misses a great part of the speaker's message. In fact, listening involves a temporary deliberate evaporation of the ego that arrogates postures of precedence.

The social aid intended for victims of torrential rains has been diversely received in different regions. Does the sum of Rs109 cover the needs of three days? How does the victim identify himself? What are the characteristics of the victim? To whom is the additional sum of Rs 5 000 destined? Is the police of the village or town credible? Is his report reliable?

When we communicate, we must anticipate reactions and prepare responses that will enhance our message. The giver of the message must minutely pave the way for comprehension. If giving is not well received the taker may take offence at your generosity. Government has shown unexpected generosity because we have, let us admit, been ourselves surprised by the extent of the gravity of the catastrophe. This spontaneous act of generosity, oddly contrasting with the impression of indigence that government gives despite its 'early harvest', was wrongly interpreted.

The Prime Minister is right when he equates a good education with the capacity for rational and critical thinking. Unfortunately, this definition does not apply to a mass groaning under the contingency of scarcity. The result of the poor communication has been damaging to the innocent giver. Government has been accused of practicing favouritism, communalism and cliquishness. Some have even found Minister Sheila Bapoo preparing for next elections. Too often we sit in tribunal over the MBC's subservience to Government's propagandist volitions. It is up to every ministry to prepare a corollary communication chapter to every policy that runs the risk of being misinterpreted. Otherwise, the damage control mechanism violates the beauty of the gift.

My belief is based on my experience of teaching. Unless I prepare my class to receive me, a great part of my message waters down and is lost.

When we communicate we must be very much conscious of the state of mind on the listener. A troubled mind is not in a position of receptivity. Just as the Rs 5,000 have been given in Social Welfare Centres, in other words, in the place where the victims have suffered, a meeting with social leaders of the affected areas, the youth and other members of the "forces vives" to explain in anticipation the purpose of the gift, the criteria that will be used to select beneficiaries, should have been held. No doubt, administrators will retort that they have no time for such exercises.

This is expected from people who are immured in files and who believe the world is guided by press communiqué or policies that are acted upon to boost their ego. Even if administrators' foibles are pandered to, a politician is, par excellence, a good communicator , and, de facto, a person who relies on interpersonal exchanges. No one's goodness will be appreciated unless its mission is clear to the incumbent.

Why did Mrs Kalyanee Jugoo have to suffer from the rabbles's clamours early in the morning in front of her house? In a constituency, ministers and an MP, in a justified outpouring of sympathy, topped up the grant of Rs109 per day and Rs5,000, with victuals such as rice and school stationery, books, etc. This went down very well in the said constituency. But this act was interpreted to be the normative action of every MP in all constituencies where people have been afflicted. This is again a major flaw in the communication network governing all government MP's. Was there an organized will to add food components to the government's pecuniary grant? In a government which is united, all members act alike on the basis of a common policy.

We cannot blame the average citizen for greed and all the sins associated with insatiability. How can a father in a family be generous to a few children when the mother cannot demonstrate the same kindness to others? One parent will be accused of favouritism. If you explain to the family that the beneficiaries of a gift are special because of some extraordinary action they have done, the act of generosity will be accepted. A disunited group cannot communicate well because communication is based on an assumption of togetherness among the communicators and those to whom the communication is destined.

Communication advisors will do a disservice to the ministers if they limit themselves to play second fiddle. They must lead their ministers by preempting the people's reaction. Communication advisors are I reckon failing in their assigned duties because they lack the ability to communicate. To communicate is not only the ability to write English or French. It is, above all, the acumen to make the public get the right message. No minister, not even the Prime Minister , has a communication advisor he deserves. They are not people of the crowd because the impact of a statement must be weighed against the meaning people will make out of it. Ministers must make their communication cell, not a one man's job. You need more than one to discuss the importance of a message. The following questions must be reflected upon :

1. Why has the NRPT policy received a poor welcome? A lapidary statement like - we need to create funds for the NDU- is not digested by the people. In the absence of a clear meaning, the public creates, concocts a meaning. They feel the money will be used to fatten ministers? Per diem and to buy limousines? Nature brooks no vacuum. Therefore, the wrong meaning is as valid as the correct one. The minister of Finance and Mr Ali Manssoor need to rethink their communication strategies.

2. The opposition is being given too much space to extract wrong meanings from government's policies because government does not care to be clear. Did Mr Valayden explain why sodomy between consenting partners is no sin? If one does have an explanation that will be accepted by the mass, it is better never to invent policies that will torment their authors.

3. No one is explaining to the mass why those earning up to Rs10,000 will receive only subsidy on SC/HSC fees and not the parent earning Rs10,001.

Very often communication means helping the listener find a way to solve a problem. The poor lack initiative in crisis situations. If I know I have to pay the exam fees of my ward in March, should I not start saving as from January? Government cannot make such suggestions, but Heads of schools who advise PTA's may help in this communication exercise. With ineffectual communication advisors, Government is alone and becomes a punching ball-even for UPSEE, which acts more as a political organization and less as a union. It is given the freedom to fuel the flames of refractory behaviour even among students who need the least opportunity to demonstrate and give public expression to their untapped energies.

Government's success depends on its communication strategies because action without meaning defeats the purpose of action.

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