Letters have to pass two tests before they can be classed as good: they must express the personality both of the writer and of the recipient.
E. M. ForsterRead
Few things concentrate the mind more efficiently than the necessity of saying what you mean. It brings you face to face with what you are talking about, what you are actually proposing. It gets you away from the catch phrases that not merely substitute for thought but preclude it.
Interpretation
Communicating clearly forces you to confront your true thoughts and ideas.
This quote emphasizes the importance of precise communication. When we are required to articulate our thoughts succinctly and clearly, we are compelled to examine what we truly believe and mean. It suggests that vague or cliche expressions can hinder genuine thought and understanding, while clarity leads to deeper engagement with ideas and proposals.
In practice
In a business meeting when discussing project proposals.
Letters have to pass two tests before they can be classed as good: they must express the personality both of the writer and of the recipient.
All communication involves faith; indeed, some linguisticians hold that the potential obstacles to acts of verbal understanding are so many and diverse that it is a minor miracle that they take place at all.
Merely stating a truth isn't enough. The truth has to be made vivid, interesting, dramatic. You have to use showmanship.
Your purpose is to make your audience see what you saw, hear what you heard, feel what you felt.
People don't listen to understand. They listen to reply. The collective monologue is everyone talking and no one listening.
You cannot speak that which you do not know. You cannot share that which you do not feel. You cannot translate that which you do not have. And you cannot give that which you do not possess. To give it and to share it, and for it to be effective, you first need to have it. Good communication starts with good preparation.
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