Sunday, May 10, 2009
Week 6: Interpersonal communications isn’t just in the workplace
Read the following article titled, “Words Don’t Mean What They Mean” by Steve Pinker at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1659772,00.html Describe your reaction to the article, and how what you’ve learned from it can be applied to the workplace. Be specific.
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10 comments:
I feel this kind of situations come up more so than we even realize. Just from reading this i can think of tons of incedences were people's words get taken totally the wrong way, where people will get nasty towards a person for all the wrong reasons.
After reading this I can think of a ton of things in everyday conversation that just don't make sense or say what they really mean. I can see how your wording can make a big difference in the job atmosphere. Ecspeacially when you are dealing with people from other countries. I myself have had my words takes the wrong way many times. When in a serious conversation, I try to say exactly what it is I mean. I can really see that this is going to be an important part of my career when I graduate.-
I totally agree with that! It is true that many people do this knid of thing all of the time. I have had it happen to me and I know others that it has happend to as well. The truth is, people like to hint at things because they don't want to be so bold. The best thing to do is to tell the truth but be careful of what to say. You don't want to be greeted with offense!
When speaking in a workplace, you want to be careful and not say something that people may take the wrong way. You want to be clear and concise on what you say and hopefully be heard right.
This is not something I think about conciously. To be frank it is also not something that I am concerned with either. My reaction to the article is, "DUH". These are things that we are taught our entire lives and should be applied to everything that we do, not just the workplace.
The article, in my opinion, is very truthful. This is common practice for most all Americans. We may not even realize we do so, but once it is said we may "catch" ourselves. With our everyday lives I don't think it matters as much as it would in our workplace, because there are a different sets of rules and standards in each environment. At work you don't want to come across rude or offensive. It is better to be clear and direct on what you mean, without using slang or hinting around on the subject.
I agree with this article. There are always going to be times when someone's words are misinterpreted, and the other person takes offense to it. In the workplace, people might misinterpret their boss's orders and bring them something completely different. And in a workplace that works with different cultures, people will not understand and may take something as an insult because they are not from the same culture or country. In my opinion it will always happen no matter what, but to prevent it and know what to say and how to say it will make the conversation go smoothly.
The article gives insight into what kind of messages people give in their everyday lives. I think that it can be easy to send a message that may not be clear or hard to understand. In the workplace, it is important to send messages that are not confusing. The tone of one's voice is important in communicating in th workplace. One does not want to say something that could be interpreted in a different way.
This article brings up some very interesting points regarding communication. I have a habit of saying things the wrong way and offending people when I don't mean to. I feel that I rush into what I want to say without thinking about it first. It is very easy to misinterpret what someone is trying to say to us therefore, it is best to clarify things if we are unclear about what is being said to us. Another thing that is important in communicating effectively is being aware of the nonverbal communication you are sending to others such as facial expressions, body language, eye contact, etc… In the workplace, it can be very easy to be taken the wrong way and people really have to be aware of what they are saying and how they are coming across to others. Something as simple as telling a joke can make some people laugh but could offend others. Making generalized statements can sometimes get people in trouble in the workplace especially if the comment is referencing sex, race, age, etc… these types of comments can actually lead to lawsuits. It is very important to think about what you say as well as how you say it both in our personal lives and in our work lives.
After reading this article the first thing that came to my mind was Tim McGraw’s song Back when. It relates to this very topic. The chorus line is: “Back when a hoe was a hoe; Coke was a coke; And crack's what you were doing; When you were cracking jokes; Back when a screw was a screw; The wind was all that blew; And when you said I'm down with that; Well it meant you had the flu” It is amazing how as technology advances we have become inventors of new meanings to old words.
It is vital to say what you mean in a clear and concise way no matter if it is professional or personal. For me the article did not shed new light on anything I did not already know.
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