When I was in seventh grade, our guidance teacher gave us a problem solving exercise. I was in one of several groups, and the setup for the problem was to get a ping pong ball out of a six inch long PVC pipe that was seated in the cement in the center of the floor. We had a matchbook, string and a paperclip. Our group discussed all of the likely scenarios, but in the back of my mind, my bright idea was to urinate in the PVC pipe and force the ball to float out. Reasonable right? In seventh grade I dared not utter those words.

We went around the room, and all of the groups described their solutions. At the conclusion, the teacher listed all possible scenarios.  Then she paused and said, “and a very creative solution would be to pee in the PVC pipe.” What? That was the fringe idea that I did not believe anyone would hear with a straight face.

To this day the ping pong / PVC / pee story has haunted me as a whispering reminder to “speak up.” No, it would not have resulted in collegial accolades and great fanfare, but it was an unconventional solution.

We’ve typically got one chance to say what’s on our mind. If we don’t it either is lost forever or becomes so distorted it’s impossible to recreate. The “Comeback” episode of Seinfeld illustrates this well:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSmucMHlBvY

Of course, my story and George’s jerk store are light examples of speaking up, but sometimes it can mean the difference between a great romance or a crush, a promotion or a the status quo. The world outside your head has no idea what’s going on in your world without your utterance. So speak up!

I’d love to hear your great “unsaid” story!