Make this acronym your best friend. Put aside time for it. When it is speaking to you, give it your full attention, as if it were the most important acronym on earth. Compliment it now and then on a new outfit.
IBATR is the Holy Grail of successful communication. Granted, perfection is not possible. But virtual IBATR perfection (VIP) is. ... For all practical purposes, he, she, or it has done their best to follow the steps to the best of their ability — and ... Step Five always allows for the reexamination of information, methods, and motives.
Mission
"IBATR: Information, Biases, Assumptions,
Truth, Response = critically thoughtful communication,"
by Tom Ersin, April 19, 2009
If You Remember Nothing Else: IBATR - Critically Thoughtful Communication
IBATR (pronounced “EYE-batter”) — or critically thoughtful communication — comprises the foundational principles upon which this professional portfolio is built. IBATR does not involve intellectual hoop-jumping or mental gymnastics that only lawyers, philosophers, or Mensa members can understand. It is simply a form of critical thinking that anyone can and should use to cut through the uncastrated adult male bovine excreta and get to the most accurate possible version of the truth regarding any given issue or question.
IBATR is the acronym representing the five legs of our communication table. When even one or two legs are weak or broken — or missing — the table wobbles. Milk spills. This acronym, IBATR, represents the foundation of critically thoughtful communication, the key to ethical, accurate information exchange. Make this acronym your best friend. Put aside time for it. When it is speaking to you, give it your full attention, as if it were the most important acronym on earth. Compliment it now and then on a new outfit. Surprise your acronym occasionally; send the kids to Grandma’s and plan an intimate rendezvous at home, just the two of you. But never, EVER, dispute your acronym’s word when the two of you are with friends.
I) Information:
Carefully consider the communicated information or question at hand (QAH). Assign no immediate favoritism toward information sources and no immediate judgment about accuracy or inaccuracy of the information.
B) Biases:
Examine all biases you or the sources might have surrounding the communicated information or QAH.
A) Assumptions:
Examine all assumptions you or the sources might have surrounding the communicated information or QAH.
T) Truth:
Maintain a commitment to truth and honesty, and consider the level of this commitment for each communication, information source.
R) Response:
Carefully draw a conclusion, and formulate a response. And always remember that these might require modification based on new analysis, new communication, or new information-source evaluation.
IBATR is the Holy Grail of successful communication. Granted, perfection is not possible. But virtual IBATR perfection is. Virtual IBATR perfection means that, for all practical purposes, he, she, or it has done their best to follow the steps to the best of their ability — and that Step Five always allows for the reexamination of information, methods, and motives. ■
Click > to play companion video (Music performance and video editing by "The Editors.")
