Choosing the right words...

This weekend brought a good reminder to me that we should always be aware of what we are saying and make sure the other person knows what we are talking about. How many times do you make a statement or remark based on something you were just thinking about, only to realize the person you are speaking to can't read your mind so they have no clue what you are even talking about. Saturday, my phone rang and it showed up on caller ID as my husband's work number. I thought it was him calling for something and when I answered a man introduced himself and said he was from the safety department. He asked if I was with Allen. Since Allen was at work, I thought that was a strange question. He then told me he just had a couple of questions they forgot to ask Allen for the safety report before they took him to the hospital. Yes, you can gasp! at this point. I sure did. I was like, WHAT! What happened? What's wrong? Where is he? Major panic attack. The man then explained what had happened. Allen had fallen and hurt his arm. He told them he felt fine, but they require you have anything like that checked out so he went to the hospital to have an x-ray. Fast forward, he is fine. It was a bad sprain and is in a brace for a few days, but he is already felling better. But therein lies the point to my blog. Would it not have been easier for him to let me know what happened at the beginning of our conversation? Not after he had already giving me a heart attack. So many times, we blurt out what is on our mind and the other part is like "HUH?". So always be aware of your words. Approach delegate situations in a upfront manner. My daughter works at Knife Works and one time when she was still living at home, she got a long gash in her arm and it bled profusely. They had to rush her to the emergency room to get stitches. I didn't have a cell phone at that time and was on my way home from work when it happened. When I got home, Allen came out on the porch to tell me to go to the hospital. Now here is a man who knows how to phrase his words. He said "Diana is fine, but she got hurt at work and is getting stitches so you need to go to the hospital." That was much better than "We need some info on Allen for the safety report and he's already left for the hospital."