I’ve gotten to thinking that words are like jigsaw pieces. They jostle each other to fit into a sentence – some have sharp edges and alter the destination of the sentence in a direction the speaker did not intend, while the right words have soft edges and flow smoothly.
Other words have to be included, they are the corners of the jigsaw puzzle if you will, while alot of people seem to have more jigsaw pieces than they need and therefore use more words in a sentence than is really necessary. Sometimes when you have almost completed a sentence you will find that there is one piece of the jigsaw missing – a word that is there on the tip of your tongue yet inevitably eludes you.
It seems to me that we fabricate sentences everyday and how many of us have stopped to consider them? Some are ready made sentences that everyone uses – they are the “safe” sentences, the sentence flows easily, almost automatically, these words fit together well. They are the pieces that make up the fluffy cloud in the nature scene. They are usually statements or language specific to that topic. It’s when we try to pin something down precisely that the challenge becomes which pieces of the puzzle to use.
The safe sentences will only get you so far and people can see through them – you have to evolve those sentences on the spot, sometimes saying exactly the same thing but in a different way to achieve a desired effect. Other times you have to invent a completely new sentence (not actually new but new to the conversation) and maybe you have to switch direction mid-sentence. It’s quite tricky, use the wrong jigsaw piece and the picture turns out wrong – say the wrong thing and suffer the consequences.
What am I blethering about? Phone calls in particular require us to think fast and get it right. We don’t always have to get it right first time but getting it wrong can be costly. It can be something so simple as using a word that means the same thing but comes across in a different tone. I’ve had some pretty hellish calls at work this week and in almost every one I’ve used a word I wish I could take back. But the damage is done and it’s the difference between a happy customer and an angry one. Right now the ratio is about 1:3 happy customers.
So consider those words, those shapes, when you’re speaking. Does the spiky cactus fit in beside the soft marshmallow? Or could you use another row of shapes altogether? Think about the effect you want to achieve and the impression you want to give. Some jigsaw pieces come across as condascending while others are too blunt. Choosing the right piece for the right puzzle is something we all have to consider at some time.
Yes, I am a lunatic. I have the certificate to prove it.
July 28th, 2006 at 12:56 pm
Nope you’re not a lunatic
I think I know what you’re talking about. The whole deaf thing means I have to consider what I say quite alot – especially since I have to lipread all the time to figure out what people are saying. The phonecalling thing sounds awkward, I don’t think people have any idea that there IS a person on the other end and it’s not their fault if the company they are working for has done something wrong or if they can’t always solve all the problems they are phoning up about and so on. I always try to be courteous when I use the minicom to phone people.
xxx