Lesson In Communication: Another Personal Story

I managed to keep my calm as I spoke with my client but all was not well. There was a rubble in my tommy. By every indication I had to use the loo and no not to pee, I had to do the major one - of course you know what I mean!

I could easily have asked to use my clients loo but I feared being embarrassed. From all indication it was going to be a disruptive session what with all the bomb sound my stomach was already producing.

So I decided against it. Rather I rounded off hastily and ran off. I hit the nearest hotel to my location, luckily it was in the GRA.
I immediately went to the gate house saw the security guys there and said without even greeting them: Please where is your public restroom?

Their response? Consternation!
Thinking my approach was wrong I calmed down and asked again. This time one managed to respond and here's what he said: eh?

Obviously he didn't hear me clearly but I didn't have patience any more as the pooh made like it could thunder out any moment. So I screamed impatiently this time around: your public restroom! Where is it?! 

Meanwhile in the same instance I was saying a hurried prayer under my breath that I will not be embarrassed. How do you explain a good looking young man decked up in suit with pooh trickling down his pants.

All the while I was stamping my foot and making funny motions all in a bid to hold the pooh back till these guys got what on earth I was saying and showed the loo to me.

And then God seemed to answer my prayer! One of the men who had been staring at me finally made to speak. My motion must have made some sense to him because he asked: you mean the toilet?

I screamed YES with great relief as I came to the realization of my misgiving! He got up pronto to show me the restroom - no sorry, I mean the toilet.

As I hurriedly sat on the water closet and listened to the catastrophic sound coming from under me, the event of the past few minutes played back in my mind and I laughed at my ignorance.

I  realized that I must have sounded more like honorable Patrick Obaiagbon who says so much but communicate so little, no thanks to his verbosity.

Only a few days before someone had complained that I speak too much 'English'. Now too much 'English' almost put me in trouble.

I relearnt a lesson: not to speak over people's heads, but first size up my audience and speak at the level they understand. It's only normal that an average security guard in Ilorin Nigeria understand toilet and not restroom.

I took my lessons and was so grateful that I was pooing in the toilet and not the converse.

Don't just talk communicate