Communication is wonderful. Any given group, given a task of finding the world’s 10 most important inventions, will always choose more than 75% directly to do with communicating, be it the telephone, Internet, paper, printing press, mobile phone or television. Even choices like music, fire, the pill, electricity and straw, that seem to come up now and then, can be construed to be indirectly connected to communication.
There is good communication and not so good communication. But anyone who has studied semiotics knows communication is a two-way thing, as both Ferdinand de Saussure, and Umberto Eco say, between ”Signifier” and ”Signified”. Both point out that it takes two to create language.
The connection, relationship and interaction between the speaker, or writer, and listener, or reader, is fairly complex, and both influence each other in different ways. One model that illustrates this is the PAC model I used to teach as a safety officer, training other staff in safety-related positions about getting safety messages across:
The tone the communicator takes determines the approach the listener makes
A detailed look at PAC
The PAC model was first illustrated to me by Andrew Wright, in Veszprem, Hungary in 1992. Andrew Wright is a storyteller by profession. Basically if one adopt the ”Parent mode of addressing a listener or reader, they, listener or reader, will correspondingly adopt the Child approach . Ideal, and more importantly, successful communication takes place at Adult to Adult level.
If we want our audience, our readers to enjoy what we write, and to come back for more, to ‘Like’ us, follow us, then we often need to adapt our blogs accordingly, in different ways, be it with an illustration, length, style or other way.
P if we lecture too much, they might not cooperate, or sulk (C)
A if we make the correct assumption our readers are educated people willing to experience something new, we may do well (as a start) (A)
C if our blog is just too silly, we risk reader disapproval (P)
Bloggers are readers, just as listening is a part of speaking. How we read depends on the tone or register of the writing, as well as the obvious subject, style and ‘grammatical’ accuracy.
Nobody in this world has the right to talk down to anyone else.
P.S. that attitude got me into bad trouble in my youth.
I’m sure it did, somehow! I agree so much about the talking down…
very nicely put. I want people to read what I have written, age is not a factor. If you talk down to people the first thing that happens is they shut you out.
There is room and need for all levels of sillyness, seriousness and straight out “this is what it is”.
I agree with you so much there – age not a factor,and yes, have seen the shutting out – deservedly so. Very nicely put.