I laughed too. If anything magnified the difference between our two communication styles, it was this moment at Applebee’s when the waiter asked us, “So…how was your food?” ​

My friend looked at the waiter and said, “I’m sorry, but I just wasn’t that impressed with this. It had no flavor. I thought it was going to be a lot better and it wasn’t.”

To his credit the waiter apologized, made several suggestions to enhance the flavor, offered to have the chef re-season it to make it taste better, all of which my friend politely declined. 

Say What You Mean

My friend is a classic Direct Communicator. Direct Communicators say what they mean and they mean what they say. With a Direct Communicator you know EXACTLY where you stand at all times. There is no ambiguity. No confusion. No grey areas. It’s all black or white. 

I am NOT a Direct Communicator-which is why my internal mechanisms went crazy when my friend calmly but firmly trashed his lunch to the waiter. I can tell you that my natural tendency would NOT have been to do what my friend did-and I’ll talk more about the communication style that I have next week. (Tune in!)

Remember Lucy Van Pelt in the Peanuts comic strip? Lucy is another classic Direct Communicator. In one strip Lucy approaches Charlie Brown and asks, “Charlie Brown-do you mind if I tell you something?” Charlie Brown says, “No…go ahead.” (Why Charlie Brown, why?) Lucy responds with, “I think you’re kinda stupid.”

How’s that for direct?

Say what you want about Lucy, but you’d never have to spend a moment wondering where you stand with her! 

By the way… I am not implying that all Direct Communicators are bossy or pushy like Lucy! My friend is one of the most personable, charismatic and friendly people I know-and, yes, he calls it like he sees it.

And, quite frankly, there is a tremendous amount of strength and freedom in being able to speak your truth, isn’t there?

And while I am often in shock at what he says, I admire this trait in him and am working to be more direct in my own communication in many ways. Because I have discovered that most people would rather we generally say what we mean and mean what we say so that they don’t have to guess, wonder, probe, and investigate to discover what we really mean when we say something. 

If you’re a DC I do have one bit of advice for you though…

It’s okay to say what you mean-and mean what you say, but try not to say it MEAN!