It is the word that pleases, angers, saddens, comforts, intimidates,
encourages, discourages, enlightens, confuses, conveys love, shows hatred,
assures, deceives, pacifies, provokes, makes sense, or misleads.
A word could have many different meanings. When listening, be
sure you really know what the speaker really means, and not what you think
what he means.
Words are to explain and deliver thoughts, but words can also be used
to confound and bewilder.
Words are more of an art than a science. Words are not precise
nor accurate. The same word may come with different meanings and
definitions. Not just listen to the words, but also examine the context,
the emotion, the speaker's intended definition, the understanding, the
perspective, the unspoken, and the self-interests involved. Without
this process, words have too many different meanings, or words have no
meanings at all. Think hard what does it really mean, and do not
assume you know it already, no matter how educated you are or how many
books articles even dictionaries you have ever read. There are blind
spots in everybody. The master deceivers know very well about it,
and they use words to gain advantages. He may be using a different
"personal dictionary" from yours if you have one (most people do not have
it). Remember someone said before "There is no such word 'impossible'
in my dictionary." Got it? It is not ordinary dictionaries
we ordinary people use everyday. So an independent thinker or listener
has value here.
For the same reasons, when you (the encoder) talk, do not assume the
listener (the decoder) really understand what you really mean. The more
sophisticated you are, the more difficult for others to really understand.
They might resent you for this, because few people enjoy being less intelligent.
Use only a few simple words, if you have to speak. Do not show off
too much, if you are really good, and you would make less enimies. |