Thanks for joining me for another edition of the SerenityThroughSweat blog. As I continue research for my upcoming project I’m awed by not only the importance, but just how little I understand about words.
As is often the case (and as I will continue to say) on this platform, taxonomy is important. Just how important is illustrated continuously in Dr. Robert Cialdini’ Influence which I just finished.
While the book is not based in philosophy or linguistics, many of the research experiments measured how individual compliance can be manipulated by seemingly small grammatical changes.
A great example from the book describes a series of staged experiments with accident scenes and a maintenance man. The man received assistance 100% of the time “when it was clear that the man was hurt and needed assistance” and 90% of the time when providing that assistance involved the bystander’s contact with potentially dangerous electrical wires. This is contrasted by stories of bystanders passing by those in need of assistance or even victims of active crimes because there is an ambiguity about the situation.
The key takeaway was that most people will help even putting themselves at risk “when it is clear” that help is needed. Thus the communication of that message, making it clear that help is needed, what to do, in what order, and by whom, all become critical to obtaining the help at all. Words matter, and the selection, order, and utterance of the correct ones can be life saving.
Dr. Cialdini goes on to advise if you find yourself in need of assistance, in order to ensure your message is clear single out one person and instruct them that you need help and how to provide it. For example “You in the blue jacket, call an ambulance and tell them I’m having a heart attack”. This choice and order of words removes the ambiguity and will most likely result in obtaining the needed assistance.
After finishing Dr. Cialdini’s book I jumped in to a series of Lectures given by the philosopher Austin, that were then compiled into his book How to Do Things With Words.
First of all the fact that we as a species have advanced far enough that I can, in my leisure time, contemplate the musings of a philosopher, who more than half a century ago was able to create a systematic analysis of human speech at it’s most basic level is incredible. What a time to be alive.
What impresses me most about Austin’s work, and what has me most excited about this project is the somewhat hidden nature of the knowledge. We all use words, and speech every day most of the time reflexively and without thought. Yet when examining linguistics, there is a complex world beneath the level of knowledge required for use that shows just how important words are.
Not only how important they are, but how many different ways there are to misuse them, and in misusing them, fail at communicating effectively. I think part of the problem is the feedback loop, and in this I’m reminded of running.
When we run there is a proper gait, stride, and technique that will enhance efficiency and prevent injury. Running in this way is obviously preferable but many people get by with deficiencies of some form or another. Some of these deficiencies can go on for years and the result may be an unnoticable percentage drop in speed or efficiency, so that no change is necessary (as long as sub-optimal performance still meets the desired outcome). Some deficiencies will be immediately felt and lead to injury or a substantial enough drop in performance that they are corrected.
When we choose how to communicate, and specifically what words to use and in what order to use them, there are often deficiencies of the first type that go unnoticed.
When we fall over ourselves running, or talking for that matter, we address the methodology by which the blunder occured and then change our behavior. But , like the unnoticable sub-optimal running form, how much of our communication is sub-optimal? How can we recognize when it is, or how to fix it?
Just as a professional runner analyzes and focuses on his form every step of the way, the philosophers and linguists have broken down human speech to a level that grammar, syntax, and semantics can all be optimized for effective communication. This analysis and reflection, especially outside of the act of speech itself, is the feedback loop by which we can avoid the “injury” or “drop in performance” that unnoticable deficiencies often lead to.
That means reflecting after a conversation on what idea you wanted to express, what words you used to express it, and then what your audience actually took away. Without the reflective feedback loop, we have little way of knowing if our chosen words were the right ones. And as we saw from Cialdini’s work, removing ambiguity can be the difference between life and death. And the best way to remove ambiguity is with words.
Thanks for joining me, stay safe and stay sweaty my friends.
