Pledge Perspective
One morning at the breakfast table my daughter (age 7) shared that she felt all people in the whole world (not just children) should say the Pledge of Allegiance every morning. My mind went in a multitude of directions, most specifically that the Pledge is not appropriate outside US, and settled on leveraging curiosity by asking, "What does the Pledge of Allegiance mean to you?"
She said it served as a reminder to her to take care of the world - the people, the Earth, and the animals. I whole heartedly agree that a daily reminder to be a good global citizen would do us all good. The conversation went to discussion about what “Thinking Globally and Acting Locally” meant in that she can have a positive impact in our community that can help inspire others to do the same and if everyone did one thing that inspired someone else to do the right thing, then the world would be an even more amazing place.
I could have easily shut my daughter down explaining why it is not appropriate for EVERYONE to say the Pledge of Allegiance. I chose curiosity. I had a hunch that there was something lost in translation. By staying open minded and I was able to get to the heart of what she really meant. What the Pledge meant to her and what it meant to me were two different things. Once I understood what she really meant, I was fully on board.
Communication can be a tricky thing. When talking with someone there are four “people” or steps in the conversation.
what you are thinking
how you communicate it (verbally and non-verbally)
what the recipient hears/sees
how they interpret that information based on their life experiences, mood, etc.
“What does the Pledge of Allegiance mean to you?”
How often does this happen to you with a colleague, boss, child, or partner when one (or more) of these steps goes awry? We’ve all been the person who has been dismissed and left feeling like the other person in the conversation didn’t understand what was said. And I’m certain we can each confess to being the person who has all of the information and was happy to share their knowledge of the situation without a second thought.
Take a pledge of curiosity.
The next conversation you participate in where there appears to be a disconnect, choose curiosity. The best way to get started in asking open ended questions that begin with “what” and “how” versus closed questions that bring about a “yes” or “no”. Tread carefully with using “why”, while an open ended question, it can come of judgmental. For example, if you were asked, “why do you think that?” versus “how did you arrive at that opinion?”, which one feels more engaging.
