Читать книгу The Communication Playbook - Teri Kwal Gamble - Страница 183

The language we use varies in specificity. Consider the family pet. We could call it:

 A domesticated animal

 A dog

 A poodle

 A standard poodle

 My standard poodle Lucy

In each instance, our description becomes somewhat more specific. Alfred Korzybski and S. I. Hayakawa designed an abstraction ladder to describe this process.¹³ The ladder is composed of a number of descriptions of the same thing. Items lower on the ladder focus specifically on the person, object, or event, while items higher on it are generalizations that include the subject as part of a larger class. As our words move from abstract (less specific) to concrete (more specific), they become more precise in meaning and are more likely to appeal to the senses and conjure up a picture. Specific words, such as Lucy, clarify meaning by narrowing the number of possible images that we imagine.

Using high-level abstractions serves a number of functions. First, because high-level abstractions function like verbal shorthand, they let us generalize, making communication easier and faster. Second, because they also let us be deliberately unclear, high-level abstractions allow us to avoid confrontations when we believe it is necessary. If, for example, your boss asks you what you think of a new corporate strategy and telling the truth appears too risky to you, you can offer an abstract answer to the question and avoid being put on the line. On the other hand, relying on high-level abstractions can also cause meaning to become fuzzy—primarily because the words you use can be misunderstood. The goal is to use the level of abstraction that meets the needs of your communication objectives and the situation.