Occasionally we hear of people being struck sane (or sober) in a blinding
ray of white light.  Most of the time, change is more gradual.  People being
people, they are naturally suspicious of recruitment campaigns that require
them to immediately switch from the way they believe to the way I believe.
Even if I have a pile of facts to support my position.  Especially if they
just met me. If I have some useful information, I think the most risky thing
I can do with it is present it in a way that triggers suspicion that a
"recruitment" is about to take place.

The ethical emphasis of 'informed consent' is equally divided between the
words 'informed' and 'consent'.  People have to consent to hear your
message, then they have to consent to consider changing their behavior. Then
they have to change it.  It's a process.  Without the initial consent to
engage in dialog (which occurs as the direct result of the establishment of
rapport and trust) there is no willingness to be informed.

This is what bothers me so much about coming up with names for formula such
as SLIME (synthetic liquid imitation mechanical emulsion).  If a stranger
came up to me and said, "Oh, I see you are feeding your little baby SLIME"
I'd never be able listen to another word she had to say to me. My resentment
of her judgementalism would get in the way of hearing any of her other
offers of help. We are all related to at least one person like this:   They
can tell you something you basically agree with and STILL piss you off.

Funding for the DARE project (anti-drug education for teens) has been
suspended because the statitstics show that lecturing kids about the dangers
of drugs has done no good in terms of preventing the targeted behavior.
People are odd.  Hammering them with the evils of their ways often makes
them perversely interested in shoving things back in your face.  Knowing
that about human behavior, why not use a more effective strategy to get
people to change?  Why don't we, as a profession, consider discarding
discredited methods of communication in favor of approaches that might stand
a chance of actually working?

I vote for cow milk formula and soy formula.  Short, simple.  People know
what the heck you are talking about,  and you've spared them the character
assassination.


Barbara Wilson-Clay BSEd, IBCLC
Austin Lactation Associates
http://www.lactnews.com

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