Sometimes in this social networking world, we forget how
easy it is for our words to be misinterpreted.
We, especially us older folks, communicate with more than just
words. There is the voice infliction,
the eyes, and body language. In the
world of interview and interrogation, we even measure respiratory and
gastro-intestinal response. How about
sweating, stuttering, and twitching. If
you ever get a chance to interview a heroin addict, you’ll see a lot of face
scratching. .
Technology folks speculate that in the near future,
we’ll once again watch for all these things as the keyboard will slowly disappear.
I read one article where the writer said he believes schools will put
more emphasis on listening than on reading and writing. Interesting.
Until we get the upgraded versions of Skype, Dragon
Speaking, etc., we’ll have to continue in our attempts to make people
understand what we are typing.
For years, I taught a police report writing class and
letting the reader know what you’re saying is extremely important. It could be the difference whether or not a
District Attorney’s office will prosecute a case. I can tell you for a fact, that if the attorneys
don’t understand you, the odds of your having to testify go up greatly. Without knowing you, they tend to judge you
on your written words. The better a
report is written, the better chance of the defense wanting to plea a case.
Here’s a little example that I used in my classes. I can’t take credit for this one. I learned it in a Field Training Officer
class years ago.
Read the following sentence.
I didn’t say the truck was red.
Now, let’s break it down putting emphasis on different
parts of the sentence shown here as the underlined part.
I didn’t
say the truck was red.
He did.
I didn’t say
the truck was red.
You may have interpreted it that way but I never
actually said it.
I didn’t say the truck
was red.
I said the car was red.
I didn’t say the truck was red.
I said it was a yellow, and I said it was the same color
as that yellow fire truck.
How do we get past this communication gap? If you’re the writer, proof read and if there’s
a place where you feel it’s important, tell your reader what you mean. If you’re the reader, ask questions. Never take someone’s written word for it.
