Emergency NumbersPhone Book (Must be on-campus or have a valid network account)
What is a Spoon?
Now we will participate in an activity that will highlight one possible reason how and why misunderstandings occur in communication.
Words.
Words are just words. They have no meaning without knowing the symbol they represent. Words are not the real thing. Example: Apple (show an apple). The apple is the real apple. The name "apple" is the artificial representation, or symbol that creates the image of the real apple in our minds, whether written or spoken.
"Grading" is a symbol system.
- A= Awesome
- F= Failure
But, it is artificial, not real, so we can make it different. We can change it to:
- A= Awful
- F= Fantastic
Language is an artificial system of symbols. It is the community of agreement that allows this system to work.
People that are not part of the community of agreement do not understand the language. (Example: foreign language)
What do you have to have to be a spoon? What are the essential attributes of a spoon? What is the essence of "spoon-ness"?
Describe a spoon.
-handle
-bowl at the end of the handle
(is a cup a spoon? It has a handle and a bowl)
-straight handle
(is a pan a spoon? It has a straight handle with a bowl at the end)
Function of a spoon – to cradle food stuffs
(Is a ladle a spoon? It meets these criteria)
What if the function is decorative?
(Is a wooden spoon a spoon?)
Relationship between the handle and the bowl – needs to be at 180 degree angle
(what about a crooked baby spoon?)
What is a spoon made of? Metal?
(Is a plastic spoon a spoon?)
The function of a dictionary is to capture the essence of the word to describe what it is. What the people who use the language mean when they say a word. Knowing a language means you know what the words in a language mean.
But, experience matters a lot as far as how we encounter symbols. Most of us (common in our culture) visualize a metal spoon, but other things can also mean a spoon. Meaning is in context. For example: "Please give me a "spoon" so I can stir this soup". We would give a wooden spoon because otherwise we would be burned. But what if we are giving instructions and the person doesn’t have any experience cooking? They may perceive we want a metal spoon, which isn’t what we want at all.
See how miscommunication can happen?
There is a great benefit to know what we mean when we say words. We believe that our meaning should be perfectly clear to everyone else. A strategy that supervisors may want to experiment with is to think ahead of time about how their words will be understood. In other "words", try putting yourself in someone else’s shoes before you give instructions. Are you using words that mean the same to both parties?
Other examples – discussion.