Negative is Positive:

Humans are a classifying, quantifying, inquisitive group. We are constantly striving to understand and make ourselves understood.

In our need to relate, can be seen all our interaction. We are a relative thinking race. When we think of black, we automatically bring to mind white, not necessarily the color, but the concept. The idea that one is the opposite of the other. When we think pretty are we really thinking pretty, or the opposite of ugly?

Everyday life is absolutely drowning in the relations we connect together. It's a necessity of how we live. To be able to break something down to a word in our languages that actually exists in our mind as an abstraction. By the very mention of something, we bring to mind the various associations. It's the nature of the beast.

Back to the pretty... What is pretty? Well that's why you will find quantifying terms near ambiguous words. Supermodel-pretty, for example. Immediately we call to mind the association of supermodel and all that embodies. This makes the concept of pretty clearer in a sense to us, when ultimately it's just calling an association that in turn calls other associations. Deeper into the example: If a person is defined as supermodel pretty, others might automatically attribute supermodel stereotypes to that person. They all of a sudden become vain, arrogant and downright bitchy to those others. The stigma has been attached by association.

Clearly, it is important to think about what you say and ask yourself, does this truly embody what I'm trying to say?

Ah yes, the source of all misunderstandings. As we race from point to point in life, we often forget that we are complete individuals. A world of our own. When relating to people, we can often forget that those people are simply not us. To be able to get an idea across fully requires as many understood associations as possible. Blue means something, but means even more when it's sky blue.

This existence of vagarity is often an ever-present leech within our speech, draining our expression of universality.ý Ambiguity begins to creep in, like a plague. In these instances, on will often be required to elaborate on the details to make himself understood. Hopefully if the person is well-spoken and knowledgable about the subject at hand, this will not end up as an even bigger cluster-fuck.

Then again; we have the other side as well. When an idea is coming across as to complex, we abstract it. Usually with visually-targeted analogies. "It kinda' works like..." and "It's reminiscent of...". These are all the beginnings of what is usually an abstraction. Done correctly, an abstraction carries no signifigance ascribed to itself, but in fact has whatever signifigance attributed to it instead transferring to the idea/object of discussion.

The danger of abstractions is that on can become caught up in their analogy. Or, just plain pick a bad, unhelpful analogy altogether. These can lead to not only loss of understanding; but, horror of horrors, can lead to misunderstanding.

In order to save time, energy, and most importantly; to facilitate understanding; one must speak with an exactness. No more lazy minds, please!

It seems stupid, possibly even cromagnon, but we should all stop and think of the idea we wish to get across before speaking. An educational discourse will build up examples to a main point. An emotionally impacting speech is made so by evocative word choice. A cold, distant directive is uttered with meter and tone.

Pick an example of someone who you thinks gets ideas across particularly well. What would you have said instead? Why does the other person's word choice, tone, meter even body language get his idea across far better than you could have. Look at another example. And another. Review and take in the techniques of great orators.

Now, we come to the difficult part. For, if you were to ask these great speakers how they get an idea across; invariably there will be mention of putting it in a way they themselves could understand. Well this actually works for them, because they have, in a way trained themselves.

The human mind acts like a computer when receiving language. As it enters, it is being processed and sending off signals to retrieve relative relations and fire off emotional cocktails. When a great speaker talks, he is running a sub-conscious processor over his words constantly, making him one of the mob.

With this type of technique, the speaker can guess how each word and timing will affect his audience. He has already been there so to speak.