Be careful where your WORDS are scattered!

I read a fable a few days ago and it reminded me of many conversations here on Active Rain.  See if you can see the "moral of the story."

A peasant had a troubled conscience and sought the help of the village sage.  He was concerned about some gossip that he had spread about a friend.  Not only did he regret that he would be a party to such slander, but he also found that the gossip was untrue.  He asked that the sage give him some way to make amends.

The sage told him to go and gather a bag of feathers and distribute one of those feathers at the doorstep of each home in the community.  So, because it was important to the peasant to repair the damage he had done to his friend by spreading bad rumors, he did exactly as he was told.  He returned to the sage and asked, "Is that all I have to do?"

"No, that is not all," answered the sage.  "There is one more thing.  Take your bag and gather up every feather."  The peasant left and after searching the entire community returned to the sage to report that he could not find all of the feathers because the wind had blown them away.

The sage responded, "So it is with gossip.  Unkind words are easily dropped, but are difficult to take back again."

So - this is one way in which we must be careful about what we say on line and with our clients and fellow agents.  In my other blog that I write about the language of today's internet-enabled clients, I referred to an article in an online newsletter Early to Rise.  In it, Robert Ringer tells how he was reminded that "The writer is always at fault" when miscommunication happens.

Today, as never before, it is critical to be careful with the words we use.  Our clients are moving away from telephone conversations - just as they have moved away from conducting all their business in face-to-face interaction.  We have a huge responsibility to make sure that our communication is clear, concise and easy to comprehend.

(Now, you can tell me if I missed the boat by miscommunicating in this post.)