THE NON-SEQUITUR FILTER

I was talking to someone the other day about how I keep needing to provide context before talking about a thing. It’s a technical author trait, I guess - introduce the topic, explain the why, then funnel through the hows, before linking out to the ‘see alsos”...

Great for presentations! Not so great for fast-paced conversations. Yet I still think we all need to make sure we’re on the same page before we talk details. Don’t you?

With people you know, it’s a lot easier. You know that they know you. There’s history that does the context bit for you.

With people you don’t know, context is everything - without it you’re talking code comments and they’re still wondering why they’re there and what in the world you’re going on about.

It’s the window between them that’s tricky.  People you know a little, but not closely. Too much context with them, and you’re suddenly patronising them; not enough and they’ll just look puzzled.

It’s even more difficult if you’re an external processor! There’s no easy way to tell whether you’re just working stuff out by letting it tumble haphazardly out of your mouth, or that you’re giving them the information they need. You’re much more likely to spiral off into the detail and hope that the room follows your twisting train of thought round the mountain.

It won’t be a surprise to know then, that I’m more of a think-it-through-then-say-it kind of guy. At least, most of the time, when my brain is awake...

Because yesterday, I let myself wind internally along the mountain trail, and I blurted out a question that had nothing at all to do with where the conversation had gone! It was a complete Look-At-Me-Non-Sequitur. I just said:

“Do you think they took their shoes off?”

And immediately regretted it. The logic was there (in my head, but not in the room). It suddenly looked like I’d hijacked the whole thing with some deep and meaningful point, and wanted to show off about it.

Where was my Non-Sequitur-Filter? Where was the randomness blocker? Where was the bit of my brain that stops me from blurting out my daydreams? I of course, didn’t have a point. All I had was that one random question, and no answers, and no way to get any.

I think those bits of my thinking had shut down from tiredness. Like the Thames Barrier getting stuck in the open position, there was no way to control the flood.

Well. Today will be different. I’ll be with it today, and the filter will be back on.

By the way, I’ve thought about it and they almost certainly took their shoes off.