What do you think of when I use the word crib? Did you think a baby’s bed or a place to live in urban slang? Standing alone it’s hard to determine. The words that lead up to and are after in a sentence make it possible for you to grasp the meaning for crib. What do you think of when I say stroke?
That’s the power of language. Words, put together, make communication possible. It’s the essence of how people interact, whether spoken or written.
An Example – Game Shows
Game shows use this as the basis of how they work. Think of the show the $25,000 Pyramid. One teammate tries to get the other to say a word by describing that word. This is the same idea as speaking a word without context except in reverse. What makes it difficult is words can have more than one definition and not every person knows the same definition. This involves the teammate giving different meanings as clues to help their partner guess the right word.
What Communication
All this goes back to communication. Communication is the interchange of words. The purpose is to share knowledge, opinions, facts, and unfortunately, even gossip. The value of communication is only as good as how the receiver understands what the speaker is saying. Otherwise, there is no interchange. It’s difficult on the part of both people.
The listener has to determine what the speaker means. Unfortunately, people put in their own perspective by using different definitions of the words spoken. The listener can change the message by interpreting it the way they want. Words that have multiple meanings give them the ability to pick the definitions they prefer creating a message that comes out to their liking.
Celebrities Get It
This happens in communication all the time. You’ve seen when celebrities say something and then have to apologize because someone interpreted the meaning to their own liking. In some cases, the celebrity didn’t even mean it that way, yet they still apologize. It’s ridiculous having to say I’m sorry when someone else doesn’t grasp your message.
The Fault Line
The fault is on the listener or reader. They take the words and interpret it in the way that the listener chooses, in order to criticize the speaker. What is the point of listening to someone if you don’t want to hear their message.
It happens in writings also. The reader interprets what the writer stated the way they prefer it to read. What’s the point of taking the time to read an article or a book and not understand the writer’s message. Wasn’t the purpose of reading something to learn what it said?
The fault also rests on the speaker or writer. Choosing the right words along with the correct surrounding words clarifies your message. The more you articulate the better chance you have of relaying your message. It’s the responsibility of the speaker/writer AND the listener/reader to take upon themselves to deduce what the words convey to both parties. Only then does communication occur.
Back to the Beginning
So, what did you think of when I wrote the word stroke? A heart attack, a swimmer moving through the water, the smooth gliding of a rowing team, or someone stroking another’s ego. I was thinking about petting a kitten’s tummy.
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