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And mean what you say is an aphorism I heard a long, long time ago. The problem is sometimes the words I say and what those same words mean to the listener may not be the same. So although I meant what I said what you interpreted my words to mean is not what I meant at all.
For example…
“He’s really smart.” It may not mean he’s well educated.
“She’s very talented.” It may not indicate what her skill
level is.
“They are rich.” It may not mean they are successful.
Knowing how I mean the words I use is of critical importance
to understanding one another. My job as a communicator is to make sure my listener
understands without confusion what it is I mean by what I am saying. If I leave
the interpretation up to my listener it may happen that the message I sent gets
misinterpreted.
Many years ago telegrams were a common way to send a
message quickly and directly to someone. You paid by the word so you had to be
terse and succinct. You could not leave anything to chance in your message. You
cut out any and all fluff and got right to the point. These days we have the
luxury of beating around the bush trying to get our message out.
Remember…message sent is not message received.
John Mariotti
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412
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