The choice of time and place to invite people to talk can be critical, Just as one knows
oneself that there are times when one is prepared to open up, and times when one is
not, so this can obviously be the case with other people. One of the skills of
communication is picking up the cues as to whether a person \s or is not prepaI’ed to
talk about a sensitive matter. Even if the place cannot always be chosen, sometimes the
geography of a room can be arranged to encourage, or for that matter to discourage, a
person from talking. The more status symbols surrounding the authority figure, the less
likely a subordinate is to feel free to talk. One remember one personnel officer who was
over six feet tall always made a point of seeing that he had an able but peppery works
superintendent who was short were both seated if anything of consequence was to be
discussed. The personnel officer had learned from experience that the superintendent
was self-conscious about his lack of height and so he did his best not to emphasise it.
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