It’s Foodie Friday! Today I want to discuss grilling since I’m told that July is National Grilling Month (who knew). An article in AdWeek tipped me to that fact, along with the fact that how to grill steak is the most researched topic on YouTube, followed by grilling pork, chicken, and ribs.
I’m gratified that they used the term “grilling,” because, in a lot of places, the grill is known as the barbecue, as is what you’re doing when you cook on it. Barbecue, of course, is a very different food. It’s smoked, not grilled, over low heat. Grilling generally involves a high heat, either directly or indirectly applied to the food. Nevertheless, I have friends and family who ask if we’re going to “barbecue” some steaks. I made the error of saying I wanted to fire up the barbecue in front of some Southern friends and they wondered out loud if we were going to be eating in 5 or 6 hours, a reasonable amount of time for anything to be real ‘cue.
There is a business point in this. Often we say one thing without realizing that the people to whom we’re saying it are interpreting it as something entirely different. “Dressing” to my Yankee friends is something you put on a salad; in the South, it’s a bread-based side dish (like what we’d call stuffing). “Greens” up North are the base of a salad; down South, they’re usually cooked collards.
Part of being a good businessperson (and a great manager) is making sure not only that what you’ve said has been heard but also that the meaning you intended to convey is the meaning assigned to your statement. Lawyers tend to be very good at this, sometimes painfully so. There’s a reason why they’re as precise as they are, though, as our examples show.
I’ll grill something this weekend. I might barbecue as well (although it tends not to be a verb down South). I know the difference and will be sure that anyone to whom I mention what I’m cooking does as well. See the difference?
Consult Keith 