Sailing

Can we change the words we use and be heard? Over the years, I have discovered something. The language I use forms the way I think in a sort of chicken and egg way. Not only does it change the way I think, it changes the way I am perceived and the way I am heard. (Communications 101: I am not responsible for what I say; I am responsible for what you hear.)

Let me explain by way of a story. Working my way through school, I took a job at a Yachting Chandlery. I fell in with the skipper of ‘Riskin’, a 6-meter raced out of Shilshole Bay. I landed a berth handling the running backs. About half the crew worked with me at the chandlery and the other half were experienced racing sailors from other vocations.