Category: communication

I recently heard the story of Armando Galarraga, the Detroit Tigers pitcher who would have had a perfect game except the umpire made an incorrect call on what should have been the last out. Perfect games are rare in baseball — only 20 have occurred in the history of the game — so to miss it by one wrong call is heartbreaking.

The umpire who made the call, Jim Joyce, was one of the best in the game. He had the integrity to acknowledge his mistake and apologize to Galarraga. He said, “I was convinced he [batter Jason Donald] beat the throw — until I saw the replay.”

Haven’t we all been like that — convinced of our correctness? Most decisions don’t have the luxury of an instant replay to see our errors; instead, we press on in our righteousness. But we would all be better off if we had an open mind to consider other possibilities and to exhibit grace when mistakes occur.

Galarraga and Joyce eventually wrote a book entitled Nobody’s Perfect. It referred to their specific situation, of course, but it applies to all of us. Even without the instant reply, acknowledge that you could get it wrong.

My email is inundated with donation appeals for candidates and political causes. While they rarely motivate me to give, I am fascinated by the varied approaches campaigns take in their pleas for funds. Some are touting their success and asking me to join the bandwagon, while others issue grave warnings of what will happen if I don’t contribute today.

Subject line examples include:

• A massive fundraising disadvantage
• We’re done, team
• Momentum is building
• We’re asking for just $1 to flip…
• The situation has gotten so dire
• Defend this seat
• Crying tears of JOY
• Stop what you’re doing and read this
• We’re tied in the polls

Instead of being annoyed by these, they cause me to consider what is effective. Is it a more powerful approach to say, “We’re behind, help us,” or “We’re on a roll, join us”? Am I more compelled to contribute to those in need or to those having success?

You can take the lessons learned from the emails and translate them to: Does your team want to help solve a problem or enact a vision? Do you sell the issues or the merits? Should your message focus on challenges or potential? Is it more effective to say we need resources because we’re losing, or we need them to win?

Instead of automatically deleting that spam folder, take a few minutes to peruse and ponder what resonates with you — and how you can use that knowledge in your own messaging.