As one who appreciates the infinite value of good health, I don’t believe whoever invented Coca-Cola did a favor to the human race. But I take my proverbial hat off to the Coke employee in this little anecdote related and commented upon by Angela Sinickas of Sinickas Communications, Inc.

A woman tried to buy a Coke from a vending machine, but it malfunctioned and swallowed some of her money. By a happy coincidence, the worker from Coca-Cola who refills the machines showed up at that moment. Hearing her story, he apologized, returned her money and offered her a Coke for free. Praiseworthy in itself, but there’s more.

The woman insisted on paying for her drink,  but took the opportunity to express her shock at how much one had to pay for a bottle of Coke nowadays. The worker commiserated with her about how high prices were, but explained in the nicest way just how much the higher price of oil affected the cost of his product, from the oil used to make the plastic bottle to transportation costs. He mentioned specific percentages and dollar figures. He quoted how low Coke’s profit margin actually was on that bottle she’d just purchased.

A good ending, but how did he know so much?

So how did that potentially negative encounter with the Coca-Cola brand end?  The customer didn’t walk away believing that tomorrow she would be paying less for Coke than she did today, but she certainly left with a far more positive feeling both for the brand and for the way her concerns had been addressed. And that, after all, is what good customer service is all about!

But  how did the vendor maintenance man,  who presumably  ranked pretty low in the corporate pecking order, happen to be so knowledgeable on the intricacies of product costing?  One must assume, points out Ms. Sinickas, that he was appropriately briefed , whether on a formal or informal basis, by someone inthe company who served as an internal communicator. And the successful imparting of that knowledge requires a careful definition of goals followed by meticulous planning and preparation.

In Sinickas’ words:  “Especially in difficult financial times, the more we communicators can do to help our employees learn what they need to know in order to interact more positively with customers, the more we demonstrate our own value to the bottom line. Let’s be sure we actually measure that ultimate behavioral impact we have, not just whether our employees heard our messages.”

My colleague Kare Anderson of the Say It Better Center  (I’m not sure that “colleague” is the appropriate term – she is a communication expert, whereas I don’t profess to be), can always be relied upon to…well, say it better.  And teaching others to follow her example is basically her professional mission.

We’ve all been in situations where an interaction with another person turns out nasty. Sometimes, we already know before we initiate an encounter that it’s likely to be a rough ride.   Other times, we have no forewarning.

 We’re shaken to the core when when in all innocence we engage  a fellow  human being  in what we intended to be a friendly conversation, which slowly or quickly deterorates into anything but.  To our chagrin, we’ve become the butt of the other party’s anger, or the bouncing board for one or more of a whole range of  powerful but negative emotions.  

Perhaps we have become the target of fury because our protagonist believes – with or without justification – that we have caused offence.  Or possibly, we have become a convenient puchbag or whipping boy merely because we’re in the wrong place at the wrong time.      

In a blog post aptly entitled Without Words, What Are You Telling the World?, Kare raises a question that deserves our close attention: “How well do you anticipate another person’s discomfort before that person freezes up and becomes paralyzed, withdrawn or even destructive in a situation?” 

She procceds to enumerate some early warning signs of increased emotional intensity:

Sweating:  Might indicate an increase in some emotional feeling.

Blinking more:  Might indicate an increase in some emotional feeling.

Dilated pupils:  Often indicates arousal or fear.

Blushing:  Might signal embarrassment, shame, anger, or guilt.

Talking louder and faster:  Usually signals anger, fear, or other excitement.

Talking slower and softer:  Might signal sadness or boredom.

Body gesturing:  Signals a negative emotion, usually fear or anger.

Breathing fast and shallow: Indicates the presence of emotion. 

As Kare points out, too often we’re either not attuned to recognizing signs of strong emotion in other, or we misread the signals. So it will pay us to look out for these signs when speaking to to others. And of course – and this might be a lot harder – to learn in recognize them in ourselves!  

The entire piece is well worth a very careful read.