When I was a firefighter in the Air Force, one of the bases I was stationed at was Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro, North Carolina, and the last name of a good friend of mine from the fire department was Williams. Hiss family often invited me to their house for supper, and oddly enough, they lived on the 400 block of Williams Street in base housing.
At Seymour Johnson A.F.B., when someone reported a fire, they dialed 1-1-7. When the alarm room operator answered the phone, the conversation was broadcast over the station’s PA system.
One afternoon, after we had just finished eating lunch in the firehouse, the station PA clicked on, the alarm room operator answered the call, and a woman was screaming, “My house is on fire!” She went on to report her address as being in the 500 block of Williams Street. This was just down the street from my buddy’s house, and I knew the area very well.
That day, I was driving the assistant chief, and there was no doubt in my mind where we were going and where the location of the fire was. As we pulled into base housing, I began to make a right hand turn onto the 500 block of Williams Street. Immediately, I was met by “No! No! You idiot! Turn left! Turn left!” So, I obeyed the chief and as I did this, the engine and rescue truck turned right onto the 500 block.
Then the assistant chief began yelling, “Where are they going? Where are they going?” Looking in the rear-view mirror, I could see the flames coming from the front of the house as the engine and rescue truck pulled up to the fire. In a calm voice, I said to the chief, “They’re going to the fire.” He ordered me to turn around and we joined everyone else in front of the house.
Stress Impacts Our Communication
This situation was a classic case of “I know more than you do” on the part of the assistant chief when he was under pressure. As such, his communication became extremely authoritative, demeaning, and he refused to accept the fact that I, as a lowly firefighter who was tasked with driving him for the shift, might know what I was doing and where I was going.
That incident occurred many years ago and to the best of my recollection he never apologized for calling me an idiot. However, when I drove for him after that he never told me how to drive or where to go. I took that as his way of admitting to himself that I knew my way around the base.
How about you? How do you communicate with others when you are under pressure? Do you remain calm, cool, and collected or do you go berserk and start calling people names? If it is the latter, then it is time for you to change your approach and how you communicate with others.
