"Show me, don't tell me."
That is the art of effective communication.
Tell me:
"I was reaaallllllyyyyy tired that Monday morning!"
Show me:
The alarm went off. Piercing, high-pitched blaring from a far-off distance, yet in my ear just the same.
How could this be? I had just closed my eyes to crash out Sunday night just before midnight. It can't be...I struggled to roll over. Reached for the alarm. A lifeless hand came crashing down upon the Snooze button.
Success. Quiet. Peace. Solitude.
I forced my eyelids open. Daylight had broken. I searched for the motivation to rise out of bed. Took comfort in the warmth of the sheets instead. Eyes, slowly coming to a close. Settled, slow breathing.
Slumber beckons once again…
That noise again! It stirred me, but it didn't move me. Another lifeless arm reaches over to silence the intrusion.
A sigh. A grunt. A moan. A muttered expletive under my breath.
I looked over at the fuzzy red digital display. I could make out the numbers, but only barely: 6:32 a.m.
It was time.
A foot on the floor. Struggling to sit up. I stare at the floor between my feet.
"Here goes nothing," I mutter to myself. Another Monday has begun.
Now, where's my coffee?
See the difference? Which conveyed more to you…the telling, or the showing?
_