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NAVIGATION BAR

Saturday 4 August 2018

YOU CANNOT 'NOT COMMUNICATE'!!!

What kind of a sentence is that! 'You cannot 'not communicate!!!'

Well, would you say 'Yes' if I ask you whether you can communicate with someone without using words. I think you will. In fact, you would also cite various instances to validate your point. You would refer to non-verbal ways of communication, e.g. gestures, eye contact, etc. You may even go on to say that by means of traffic lights, messages are conveyed as well. 

Let us use an umbrella term which can cover all the various traditional ways in which we, in general, think the process of 'communication' takes place: INTENTIONAL COMMUNICATION. Obviously, you want to say something in either speech or writing and you interact with someone. Or, maybe, you used gestures to convey something. Whatever it is, one thing is for sure that whenever we talk about communication, more often than not, we refer to it from the perspective of the sender of the information without really bothering about the receiver and the way that message would be received by the person at the other end. And, this is the precise reason why people, and most importantly, their messages are often misunderstood. 

In the previous sentence, the word, 'messages', is really important for us. We must understand that our behaviour, our hairstyle, our attire, our perfume convey a certain amount of information to the people we come across. It's not just that! Even when you appear to be Online on whatsapp or facebook (but in reality, maybe, you are not), it does send a piece of information to the others. It is the way that this information is interpreted by the receiver helps him/her make meaning out of a situation. Even if it leads to a misunderstanding, we can't deny that we often feel ignored or insulted when someone does not respond to our messages despite remaining online. How often do we consider the fact that, maybe, s/he isn't really available at this moment! Maybe, s/he has forgotten to log out! 

So, the whole point is that even if you don't say or do something, you create an impression on others. This impression is based on the interpretation of the sum total of all the intentional and unintentional information that you send. Thus, whether you like it or not you always communicate. That is why, we must remain cautious. Otherwise, we might fall prey to UNINTENTIONAL COMMUNICATION. And, I guess that is exactly what is happening everywhere. There are people who do not care how they should behave with others, and at the same time, there are those who don't think twice before coming to a conclusion. Remember that COMMUNICATION will take place the moment a message (intentional or unintentional) is interpreted, that is, whenever, one can make meaning out of a situation. In addition, it should be noted that the source(/s) of the message may be unprecedented.  

What do you think?


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