LOCAL STORIES

By Warren Strybosch

With 2022 now upon us, we have been looking forward to leaving 2021 behind and hoping to hear less about Covid and more about businesses beginning to thrive again, people enjoying their holidays, and everyone being allowed to have the freedoms they once had before.

Ironically, I am writing this article as I sit in my caravan whilst the rain comes pummeling down, with the caravan fridge not working, the battery getting very low, and many other families having already packed up and headed home; shortening their summer holiday.

I then listen to the news and hear all about the spread of Covid across the country with daily stories of people I know getting Covid, local business suddenly closing their doors because one of their staff or customers having Covid, and watching people start to get nervous about these new strains and the rapid spread that is occurring.

I hear of friends leaving Victoria and moving to Queensland or WA, with the hope that they will have a better lifestyle in those states than our own.

To top it off, I sit here with a likely torn rotator cuff and swelling down my right leg. This might have something to do with me falling off my mountain bike twice on a mountain bike trail I have down several times before.

Not exactly the 2022 start I was looking for, but you know what, “it could be worse”. That is exactly what someone said to me when I was feeling sorry for myself…I had an excuse…my shoulder was feeling sore at the time. The person was not trying to be mean or nonsympathetic to my plight, but was, in their way, trying to get me to see that I was still very fortunate.

I still have a job, my wife and three teenage kids, whom I love, can still put up with me, we have a house over our heads, good friends around us, good staff in the business, and no one in our family is suffering from any major illness or injuries. Overall, I am very fortunate.

I share my situation with you in the hope that, whilst some of you are experiencing difficulties right now and may not know what the future holds, to not give up. This period will pass, and things will get better. For 2022, I hope your business thrives, your relationships flourish, and you find joy in the day to day. That is my hope for you all.

During 2022, we will try and provide some encouragement and hope through our articles and stories. If you would like to contribute a story to the Find Maroondah this year that you believe will be of interest or encouraging, please send your submissions to editor@ findmaroondah.com.au.

From the Find Maroondah team, we wish you all the best for 2022.

New Year: A New Start

WE ARE MOVING!

New Location: 36-40 New St, Ringwood, VIC 3134

Re-openning on 10th of January

Tips For Clear Communication

ACCREDITED EDITOR

By Susan Pierotti

We’ve all heard of the Charge of the Light Brigade. It refers to the slaughter of an English brigade in the Crimean War of the 19th century.

Did you know they all died because of poor communications?

The Crimean War

Let’s backtrack a bit. Russia throughout its history has sought a warm water port for its fleet and for essential supply chains, preferably one linked with the Mediterranean Sea. In the 19th century, Russia was expanding its territory across Asia and Europe while its neighbour, the Ottoman Empire in Turkey, was slowly but surely disintegrating. Russia thought to expand into the Black Sea and used the Crimean Peninsula as its diving board into warmer climes.

Turkey asked Great Britain and France for help against the invasion, which is why, on a late October day in 1854, the British, French and Turkish armies stared down a valley at their Russian enemy. There were only two mounted brigades, one of which was the Light Brigade. As the name suggests, it consisted of light, fast, unarmoured horses and men armed with lances and sabres, but no guns. They were trained and armed for maximum mobility and speed, not a long march or a hand-to-hand battle. Lord Raglan commanded the entire army. Lord Lucan had overall command of the cavalry units and the Light Brigade was commanded by Lord Cardigan. Lucan and Cardigan were brothers-inlaw—and they hated each other.

The problem began when Lucan received a message from Raglan stating:

Lord Raglan wishes the cavalry to advance rapidly to the front, follow the enemy, and try to prevent the enemy carrying away the guns. Troop horse artillery may accompany. French cavalry is on your left. Immediate.

The Russians were attempting to take away the huge guns up on the hilly rise. What Raglan didn’t realise was that Lucan couldn’t see them. He was down on the flat plain and the only Russians he could see were ahead of him, massed for battle and armed with rifles but with no big guns.

To make matters worse, the message had been drafted by someone other than Raglan and delivered by another who, when asked by Cardigan which guns, pointed to the wrong ones!

You want me to do what?!

Cardigan could have asked for clearer orders but that meant having to swallow his pride and ask Lucan for clarity. Instead, he obeyed the orders and rode in front of his 670 men down a narrow valley flanked on three sides with enemy fire. Lucan never sent the promised horse artillery, thereby sealing the fate of 118 men, with 127 wounded and 335 horses destroyed.

Lessons learned

How does this apply to our 21st-century lives? No matter who you are, there are many times and situations where you will need to send a precise, unmistakable message. A parent emailing the school principal about her child being bullied, a business owner sending a final warning to an employee, a warehouse manager ordering supplies – all require the art of clear communication.

If you want to send a message that cannot be misinterpreted (especially one that could save lives!), don’t: • get someone else to draft it • assume the receiver will have all the information you have • give someone to deliver it who gives the wrong information • trust that people will overcome entrenched hostility to one another for the common good.

Clear communication is vital in this age of fast internet access.

A few helpful tips: • If you are feeling emotional, scribble your first draft with pen and paper, then tear it up. Drink a glass of water, breathe deeply, then go to your computer and start typing. • Show someone else what you’ve written. Accept that you may have left out stuff in your haste to get your thoughts down. • Your reader will respond better to your showing them what the issue is with some offered suggestions on how to solve it, rather than outpourings of how it has affected you emotionally. • Read through everything you’ve written before you click the send button.

In fact, why not seek out a writing professional to assist you with all your communication needs?

Contact us at info@creativetext.com.au if you want help with business content, life story telling or editing.

Susan Pierotti

Accredited Editor Creative Text Solutions 0437 127 159 www.creativetext.com.au