The Power Of Words.........
..........and conversely, their limitations.
Something that occurs and recurs to me are the limitations of text only communication. I don't have the talent, ability, vocabulary or word craft to express myself in writing on paper or a computer screen to the extent that I would like to be able to. There are times when I find it to be an incredibly frustrating exercise, sometimes to the point where it seems pointless to try and convey what I want to say in print. Some things are just too big, too important, too personal to write about.
In those instances words need to be spoken, they need to be heard if the true complexities and shadings of meaning are to be fully conveyed. There is something intrinsically basic to understanding that comes from dialogue; the exchange and sharing of ideas, thoughts, perceptions and feelings between two people. There truly is an 'art' to conversation but to me it has a lot more to do with listening and then responding appropriately; thus attaining understanding.
A tangent perhaps but a pertinent one I think. Think of the great orators who've lived since the onset of recording technology and the speeches they are famous for. Churchill, Hitler, Kennedy, Mandela. A very different perception in reading those speeches and hearing them spoken, isn't it.
You can also extend it to the difference between face-to-face and telephone conversations. It's a very different thing when you're unable to read facial expression and body language. Your understanding can vary considerably when you take those things out of the equation.
But back to the original idea - effective communication. We are human and therefore are blessed with the ability to, and sometimes cursed by the need to, communicate. There are things I wish to say; they are tied to talent, ability, intuition, empathy, values, ethics, beliefs, education and personal experience. We are sometimes, due to circumstance, effectively gagged and unable to begin the dialogue. Someone has to start it.
Sorry to speak in abstraction and generalities; it's necessary.
Something that occurs and recurs to me are the limitations of text only communication. I don't have the talent, ability, vocabulary or word craft to express myself in writing on paper or a computer screen to the extent that I would like to be able to. There are times when I find it to be an incredibly frustrating exercise, sometimes to the point where it seems pointless to try and convey what I want to say in print. Some things are just too big, too important, too personal to write about.
In those instances words need to be spoken, they need to be heard if the true complexities and shadings of meaning are to be fully conveyed. There is something intrinsically basic to understanding that comes from dialogue; the exchange and sharing of ideas, thoughts, perceptions and feelings between two people. There truly is an 'art' to conversation but to me it has a lot more to do with listening and then responding appropriately; thus attaining understanding.
A tangent perhaps but a pertinent one I think. Think of the great orators who've lived since the onset of recording technology and the speeches they are famous for. Churchill, Hitler, Kennedy, Mandela. A very different perception in reading those speeches and hearing them spoken, isn't it.
You can also extend it to the difference between face-to-face and telephone conversations. It's a very different thing when you're unable to read facial expression and body language. Your understanding can vary considerably when you take those things out of the equation.
But back to the original idea - effective communication. We are human and therefore are blessed with the ability to, and sometimes cursed by the need to, communicate. There are things I wish to say; they are tied to talent, ability, intuition, empathy, values, ethics, beliefs, education and personal experience. We are sometimes, due to circumstance, effectively gagged and unable to begin the dialogue. Someone has to start it.
Sorry to speak in abstraction and generalities; it's necessary.
posted by Norm at 4/19/2007 02:56:00 AM
2 Comments:
When it comes to the written word and communicating to others, especially through the internet, it isn't easy, that's for sure. As you pointed out, facial expressions and body language can make a huge difference in understanding what someone is trying to convey.
I think, too, this post helps me in terms of explaining what I didn't explain well when I left a comment about not commenting (are you confused yet? LOL!) because what was going on your life seemed too important, too big, for what I thought might sound like trite comments. They weren't meant to be trite, but it's hard to convey that in the written word.
Words are pretty powerful things. I sometimes think they take on more power in written form because the word put on the page (or screen) is open to all sorts of interpretation and can then be twisted and turned from one reading (or reader) to the next.
Yikes. I'm writing a novel here. Sorry about that. I think it's a subject those of us communicating on the internet have all struggled with from time to time.
LOL - no, I'm not confused; I know where you're coming from.
And you're right in that a written document is a powerful thing to behold, especially when it's been written by your own hand. There is something about that process - mind to hand, pen to paper - that allows your mind to order itself in ways that simply thinking doesn't.
Thanks for the novel. LOL.
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