I once worked with a woman who claimed that she owned a turquoise cat. She couldn’t understand the amazement and disbelief that she encountered whenever she said it. Eventually, one skeptical acquaintance visited her at home. “Um, isn’t your cat tortoiseshell?” “Yes, why?” “Well you’ve been telling everyone it is turquoise.”
The moral of the story is that even though our thoughts are crystal clear to us, this does not mean that we are effective communicators. When we are met with incredulity or confusion, we should not assume there is something amiss with the listener. Try saying it another way.
Let’s think about how we might rephrase what we have just said. See if another medium might work better (such as a picture). If our message is not being understood we might do well to ask ourselves “Am I dealing with a turquoise cat?”
Let’s seek results rather than recriminations.
And, yes, as far as I know, there are no members of the feline family that are naturally blue or green, or any shade in between.
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