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Management article
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Reference no. 79609
Published by: Harvard Business Publishing
Published in: "Harvard Business Review", 1979

Abstract

Managers enhance their understanding of communication by attending to images, settings, and body language. The imagery people use in their speech offers important clues regarding the world they inhabit. Because words are symbols, their meaning varies greatly depending on who is using them. A failure to understand this often results in misunderstandings between managers. The use of concrete as opposed to abstract words, of joking as a method of communicating risky statements, and of "I" rather than "we," often reveals important clues to meaning as does labeling, certain question-asking techniques, and evidence of either-or thinking.

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Abstract

Managers enhance their understanding of communication by attending to images, settings, and body language. The imagery people use in their speech offers important clues regarding the world they inhabit. Because words are symbols, their meaning varies greatly depending on who is using them. A failure to understand this often results in misunderstandings between managers. The use of concrete as opposed to abstract words, of joking as a method of communicating risky statements, and of "I" rather than "we," often reveals important clues to meaning as does labeling, certain question-asking techniques, and evidence of either-or thinking.

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