In the 1950s, German magician Ralf Bialla added a classic bullet catching routine to his performance repertoire. However, unlike other magicians who used a variety of subterfuge and misdirection to apparently catch a bullet, Ralf actually did catch the bullet in his teeth.

To offer himself some degree of protection, he wore bullet-proof glasses, reinforced gloves on his hands which he used to cover  parts of his face, and his front teeth been replaced by plates made from steel. His assistant would fire a .22 bullet at him from a rifle and it would smash through three glass panes before Bialla caught it with his teeth.

As a result of his accepted occupational hazards, Ralf was seriously wounded nine times, but survived and continued to perform the routine, as portrayed in the 1972 documentary film ‘Wer schießt auf Ralf Bialla?‘.  In 1975, he died by falling off a cliff, supposedly because of constant dizziness caused by the injuries.

Recently, a client asked us if we could just provide him with a magic bullet to motivate his staff.  As I explored this request with him, I asked if he would like it in the form of an email that he could just fire off from his holstered Blackberry. We then continued by reflecting on his use of language, and how the message might be received rather than how it might just be banged out.

Often messages are just fired off, rather than being used as a way of engaging in dialogue. Instead of creating new space through questioning and enquiry, a firefight fought over old territory often ensues. The recipients of magic bullet messages begin to look like Ralf Bialla, viewing the world through the distortions of self protecting bullet proof glasses, as they catch some bullets and dodge others.

Eventually, dizzy from the cacophony of target based one way missives and directives, they realise that they have become targets themselves, and they go AWOL, taking their passion and creativity with them. So next time you feel like firing off a magic bullet email, just think who is going to catch that bullet for you. You might just end up shooting yourself in the foot.