Re: Complexity, Languaging & Design LO814

Jim Michmerhuizen (jamzen@world.std.com)
Mon, 17 Apr 1995 21:44:51 +0059 (EDT)

On Sat, 15 Apr 1995, JOHN N. WARFIELD wrote in LO796:

> Within the communication sphere of the LO, has anyone given any
> thought to the methodology for developing a shared linguistic domain in
> organizations (i.e., the mixing bowl within which consensus might be
> stirred up)?

Hm. What I try to do is _be_ the mixing bowl. In certain contexts (for
concreteness, picture this as leading some kind of discussion) that has
worked for me.

I'm referring here to some kinds of action that are easy to identify but
difficult - sometimes - to achieve in real time:

[1] When any participant expresses himself in cliche or technical jargon
or - to put it bluntly - gibberish, paraphrase back in ordinary
language and ask the speaker to confirm that you've got the gist of
his intended meaning. This establishes, by degrees, a shared set
of concepts that the rest of the group can use _without_ fear of
exposing their ignorance; it establishes your own linguistic practice
as a kind of "center of mass" for the group; and it sets everybody a
good example of listening carefully to each other.

[2] Avoid like poison any specialized language of your own. Do _not_
redefine familiar terms into specialized jargon; do _not_ introduce
new abstract terms at all, and introduce general terms _only_ if you can
provide _perfectly_ clear and concrete examples of their use.

Clearly, a couple of principles like this do not amount to a methodology.

Well, then again maybe they do. Reviewing the question you asked, I
have to believe that the only possible way to establish a "shared linguistic
domain" is by making very careful choices, as a leader, in one's own speech.
We're walking a very dangerous tightrope, in effect, because we have to
avoid substituting talk about talk about talk for just plain talk. And
that's not easy; but we have to believe that it's possible, don't we.

Regards
jamzen@world.std.com
-----------------------------------------------------^---------------------
. . . . . . . . . . Actions speak louder than words . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . but not as clearly . . . . . . . . . .