Communicate and Interpret

The form of communication had been a very interesting concept to me! One creates an idea through their thoughts and ideas inside their brain. The individual then sends a message to another party. The other party takes that message and deconstructs it, inside their brain, in order to understand the idea given. This is a very fantastic concept, in my opinion. It is practiced constantly. As a matter of fact, I am communicating with you through this blog post! I have previously created a message through thoughts and ideas that I have gained. I am passing this message onto you: the reader! As you are reading this blog post, you are receiving my message and currently deconstructing it to understand the idea that I have created.

 

This idea sounds simple enough, but what if I told you, it is not this simple.

 

Sending the message is the easy part. The most difficult part would be to deconstruct the message to receive the same result. For example, I may write, “Superman 64 is a better Nintendo 64 game than Super Mario 64.” Based on the text alone, my recipient may conclude that I really do believe that Superman 64 is better than Super Mario 64. What if I told you I actually do not believe this!?

 

You may be asking how so, since I have literally wrote word-for-word that one is better than the other. I will tell you right now that I was being sarcastic. It is very difficult for the recipient to acknowledge this because other factors were not present.

 

One factor that can help the recipient interpret the same message as the sender is through the tone of their voice. This is something that is impossible for me to demonstrate to you through the text of this blog post. I strongly recommend you research video and audio examples of sarcasm through other sources. The tone of one voice can have a large impact on how the message is interpreted. While tone is very useful, it can only be sent through audio. There are other methods that will help interpretation of the message.

 

One is also able to follow the Five Secrets of Effective Communication. Introduced by David D. Burns, these secrets help the presenter create and present their ideas in an effective manner. In summary to the Five Secrets of Effective Communication, one must follow “E.A.R.S.” One must begin to demonstrate empathy, finding truth and acknowledging the other’s feelings. They must demonstrate a willingness to learn more about the other individual. Doing these actions demonstrates a great understanding of the current situation. This is able to create a connection between the two parties. One must create assertiveness to the conversation. It is important to demonstrate your ideas and feelings to the other party. In the end, it is important to demonstrate respect for the other party. This process is bound to create a positive connection between the presenter and the audience.

 

Offense and defense look very alike. This is easily identifiable in the various forms of fighting stances. One cannot determine whether a fighter is on offense or defense without a further understanding of the situation. The same could be said for communication.

 

It is very difficult to interpret the ideas that one sends to another. For this reason, various methods of communication offer manners in which it is easier to understand the thoughts and ideas of both parties. While a message through text, such as this blog, is a very convenient form of communication, it does not obtain the various benefits that audio and visual forms of communication have. Seek to create and present your thoughts and ideas in a manner that is easy for the receiver to interpret. Seek to understand the message and interpret it for what it is.