Well, if nothing else, I am guessing the title of today’s blog post will at least peak your interest.
“I never asked for the anal probe” is a line from a comedic scene from an older movie called Passion Fish. Honestly, I can’t even recall what the movie was about (though I do recall Alfre Woodard in it) but I have always remembered this scene where, if I recall correctly, there was an actress (playing an actress) who was saying that she had only one line and she kept practicing it, emphasizing a different word each time:
I didn’t ask for the anal probe. (As if someone did, but it sure as hell wasn’t me.)
I DIDN’T ask for the anal probe. (This one makes the most sense because well, yeah…you get it.)
I didn’t ASK for the anal probe. (I just may have insinuated it a little.)
I didn’t ask FOR the anal probe. (I asked about the anal probe – there’s a big difference dude!)
I didn’t ask for THE anal probe. (Because there isn’t just one…there’s a variety as we all know.)
I didn’t ask for the ANAL probe. (I asked for the nasal probe, for example.)
I didn’t ask for the anal PROBE. (But I did ask for the anal…well, never mind.)
So, “Marc – what the hell is the point of all of this?” you may ask. Great question.
Well…a couple of things. One – this is yet another example of my exemplary ability to retain incredibly useless facts that will, in no way every help me in a job nor in a hostage situation.
Two – words are incredibly important but how you emphasize words can mean everything. I have learned this the very, very, very hard way – being married…and by being a comic. It has been a much easier lesson the latter.
It is such an easy thing to simply say to “choose your words” wisely but it is so much more difficult to choose them and then think about how they are going to be received. Even more difficult is the fact that non-verbal communication has an even larger impact.
You may be familiar with the popular statistic that nonverbal communication accounts for 93% of all daily communication, commonly quoted in science and media outlets. Dr. Albert Mehrabian conducted several studies on nonverbal communication and found that 7% of any message is conveyed through words, 38% through certain vocal elements, and 55% through nonverbal elements (facial expressions, gestures, posture, etc). What?!!!
This reminds me of a time a couple of years ago when a high ranking person explained that even though I appropriately did not respond during a meeting, my face gave me away and I should “work on that”. It’s my face, yo!
So, next time you’re taking the stand-up stage, giving a presentation, making your case to your significant other or faced with an alien abduction, remember – words and non-verbal cues can make all the difference between getting information or becoming part of the experience.
Until next time,
Marc