Tom Devlin

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CLARITY IN COMMUNICATIONS AND THE PROBLEMS OF ASSUMPTIONS

Posted by Tom Devlin on Sep 11, 2024 9:39:36 AM

Assumptions play a lot in communications: If I try to say “Equality is good”, nobody really knows what I am talking about. For Equality, some people color this with “Equality of Outcome”, and some people color this with “Equality of Opportunity”: Race, gender, politics, justice, law, etc. are assumptions put into play just by invoking “Equality”. For “good”, some people will assume I am talking about the environment, some about personal well-being, those of my group, or just in general. Some may take good to mean “better than currently exists” or “the best possible”. Even the quality “good” is subjective: “Good” may mean to one person a lot of money, others the freedom to be their own boss, and still more just an adequate sleeping place and food. If I want anybody to understand whatever I meant by saying “Equality is good”, I have to reduce the assumptions dramatically so that everybody knows my thought or intent clearly. Without clarity, you can waste a lot of time, effort, and material going down the wrong path.

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Topics: telecommunications, employees