Читать книгу The Communication Playbook - Teri Kwal Gamble - Страница 176

In talking to others, we often assume too quickly that they understand what we mean. There are many reasons, however, we may not be understood as we want to be. Simply put, the words we use can create barriers to understanding. In Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass, Humpty Dumpty and Alice have the following conversation:

“I don’t know what you mean by ‘glory,’” Alice said.

Humpty Dumpty smiles contemptuously, “Of course you don’t—till I tell you. I meant, ‘There’s a nice knock-down argument for you!’”

“But ‘glory’ doesn’t mean ‘A nice knock-down argument,’” Alice objected.

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in a rather scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.”

When presented with the word “bark,” are you more likely to picture a dog or a tree?

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We can make words mean whatever we want them to mean. Nothing stops us—except our desire to share meaning with others.