Building Relationships With Language

I was recently given the opportunity to attend and work a planning exercise at a Combatant Command.  This event involved meeting and collaborating closely with more than 15 partner nations, high majority of which spoke Spanish.  Some of which only spoke Spanish.

And yes, I speak and understand (regardless of (and apologies to) my high school Spanish teacher) practically no Spanish.

And honestly ... I was rather embarrassed.

What would you say ya do here?

Another great concept that a recent Skipper pushed on our Wardroom (through IW/IDW boards) that I in turn encourage upon my own Sailors is the concept of an "Elevator Speech".

An elevator speech is simply a short, 30 second to 2 minute, speech you have in your brain's back pocket that could be delivered at any single moment of any day with zero preparation.  It's name comes from the idea that by chance you find yourself in an elevator with a executive, VIP, or Flag, and they ask the question... "What would you say ya do here..." there is no awkward silence that follows.  I have also heard it called an "Elevator Pitch" for when you can quickly sell your idea to anyone that will listen.

What is an Information Professional?

Me: Hi, I'm LCDR Stephen Gray

Other Naval Officer: Nice to meet you. I see you have that new pin [IDWO]... What do you do?

Me: I'm an Information Professional Officer.

Other Naval Officer: What's that?

This summarizes my most common interaction with other officers that are not part of the Information Dominance Corps (IDC).  While I've become much better at answering this question, mostly because I expect it, I find it unfortunate that the frequency in which I get it hasn't changed.

So what do I say?  I say: "The Information Professional (IP) community is part of the Information Dominance Corps.  We are the leader for the Navy's IT operations and investments and we provide communication, network, and space capabilities to operational commanders."