Mr. & Mrs. Brown had a heated argument. Bitterness set in and they refused to speak to each other. Upon retiring for the night, Mr. Brown handed Mrs. Brown a note which read, “Call me at seven in the morning.”

When Mr. Brown awoke, it was nine o’clock! As he jumped out of bed he saw a note beside his own: “Its seven. Get up, you bum.”

This week and next we’ll take a look at some communication principles. The principle found in the above story is, whatever mode of communication we use, we can expect people to respond using the same mode. If we communicate in writing, we can expect a written communication back. If we email someone, we expect an email response. If we telephone someone, we expect a call back. If we insult someone, we should expect more insults back. If we are caring, we can expect a caring response. We set the mode (and mood).

Tags: communication, humor