Communication FUNdamentals

Apr. 29, 2008

The Jury is out on too much communication!

I am called for Jury Duty about once every 3-6 months.  It used to be that excuses were given over the phone where you explained to a live breathing person why you are unable to serve.  Now technology allows you to go through this process with much more ease...for the Jury Department!  However, we prospective jurors may find it a much more difficult process.  Now-a-days, you must mail them back a postcard with a check mark indicating your pre printed reasons for not being able to serve.  Unfortunately none of them really apply to me or to any homeschooler, I would imagine.  One of your choices isn't... I homeschool I am usually pretty thorough and in an effort to show them that there were many reasons I could not serve, I decided to check all that applied.  Care for a young child during the day Financial hardship if missed work I even wrote in that I homeschool and run a small business from home.  I figured it was pretty clear that I was not able to leave my child during the day, that he would be missing school if I did and that I would have nobody to run my business if I was to get on a jury.  They didn't see it that way.  They denied me saying "Additional Information Required".  So I had to call and speak to a live person anyway.  The gal in the Jury Clerk Department said that it didn't make any sense how I could run a business and homeschool at the same time.  In other words, they thought I was lying.  She said that if I was able to get someone to stay with my son while I went to work, I could serve on a jury.  It took me some time before the gal could really hear me on this.  She kept insisting that you cannot work and stay home at the same time.  After about 25 minutes, I was able to get her to understand that it was very common these days for people to run a business from home.  The light bulb went on above her head.  I could practically see it!  lol  However, very soon there after the light bulb dimmed as she couldn't reconcile how I could have time to run a business and homeschool my son.  It took another 20 minutes or so to convince her that my son didn't have to be schooled from 8am-3pm and that I didn't have to work from 8am-5pm.  I actually had to run down a typical day explaining how I got up at 3 or 4am to begin my workday before my son got up, schooled him in the morning and completed my work day at about 10pm.  I even had to relate to her how I was able to get housework done in between each type of work task.  It seemed to me that since Jury People are unfamiliar with modern life and homeschooling, there might be a better way for me to convey my need to be excused from Jury Duty when they called my name in 3-6 months.  I asked her what she thought I should put down on the postcard.  She told me it would be less confusing to just put down that I cared for a child during the day.  Sometimes too much information is confusing to those who have no frame of reference for the concept.  Sometimes "less is more".  Sometimes it is better to be less thorough in your communication for clarity's sake.  Sometimes.... Next week I will share with you what happens when it isn't "Sometime". Until Next Week... From JoJo's Purple Crayon...   For more Communication tips delivered right to your inbox, subscribe to our weekly eNewsletter: Communication Tip of the Week!    Hey, have you entered our contest yet?

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Apr. 30, 2008 - Jury Duty!

Posted by OldSchoolMarm

Just had to comment on your entry. I was called for jury duty two years ago when we were in the middle of selling a house and moving into a new one. Our closings on both houses were within two days of the other and we were trying to finish up on some last minute work on our house that was being sold. Of course we were schooling while all this was going on and husband was working at his fulltime job so I tried to explain all this to the jury selection commitee and didn't get a lot of sympathy...said they would have to present it to the judge. Well a week later after moving into the new house I fell down the stairs! The doctor prescribed lots of pain medication and told me to have bed rest. This worked as a plausible excuse! so go figure. LoL Blessings, Julie

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