Real-Life Communication
You are a veterinary pathologist working in a diagnostic lab. A
koi breeder sends you a koi fish and asks you to find out why the fish is
sick. He is worried about his other fish. Diseases spread rapidly in fish
tanks because the fish live so close together.
You analyze the tissue,
and sadly you see that the fish has a really bad communicable disease. To
be sure you are right, you run the tests again and check your findings very
carefully. You were correct the first time.
Koi farming is a very expensive
market right now. People are showing koi fish at shows, and breeders are breeding
fish for specific markings, sizes and so on. Some top fish are worth $10,000.
This fish is probably in that price range.
If the breeder puts it back
in his tank, all of the other fish will die. It is very bad news for the breeder.
At the very least, he must lose this one valuable fish, and possibly the rest
of his fish as well.
The breeder doesn't want to believe you. He keeps
asking you if you are sure and if it is 100 percent certain that the other
fish will die if he returns the sick fish to the tank. He even suggests that
you have made a mistake when you did the tests, and demands that you run the
tests over again.
"Communication is a huge part of this job," says Dr.
Paige Carmichael. "I have to talk to clients all the time and sometimes they
don't want to believe what I say. I also spend a fair amount of time on the
witness stand testifying."
What do you say?