As it is Effective Communications Month, I thought I'd begin my series of blog articles with a reminder of what communication really is. Here is an article I wrote a while back that puts it best. Communication is a word you’ve probably heard since you were young, but I’ll bet you can’t define it. Some people think communication is talking, conversation, making a speech, persuading someone of something or badgering them into coming to church. Others think it’s manners, etiquette or social graces. Merriam Webster defines communication as “an act or instance of transmitting,” “information transmitted or conveyed,” “a verbal or written message,” “exchange of information,” “personal rapport,” or their most comprehensive definition, “a process by which information is exchanged...
This week's word is: Peruse and it may not mean what you think it does. I was surfing the net last week and found a few articles on the meaning of this word which suggested that it doesn't mean what most poeple think it does. Most people use the term to mean glancing through something quickly without paying much attention to detail, but according these articles and to Dictionary.com, peruse means "to read with thoroughness or care, examine in detail." x I decided to look it up and what I found both confused and explained the issue. Here's what I mean. Merriam Webster defines peruse as: "1a: to examine or consider with attention and in detail : study b: to look...
I had been debating whether or not to write an article on the word debate because the meaning of debate is debatable. I didn't want to get into a debate about it, but you can debate the issue on many levels so I think I will. Debate is quite a versatile word that can be used as a verb or a noun. Merriam Webster defines debate as "the formal discussion of a motion before a deliberative body according to the rules of parliamentary procedure" and "a regulated discussion of a proposition between two matched sides." It further defines it: * to contend in words * to discuss a question by considering opposed arguments * to argue about <the subject was...
Literally, according to Merriam Webster, the word "literally" literally means: Main Entry: lit·er·al·ly Pronunciation: ?li-t?-r?-l?, ?li-tr?-l?, ?li-t?r-l? Function: adverb Date: 1533 1 : in a literal sense or manner : actually <took the remark literally> <was literally insane> 2 : in effect : virtually <will literally turn the world upside down to combat cruelty or injustice — Norman Cousins> Usage: Since some people take sense 2 to be the opposite of sense 1, it has been frequently criticized as a misuse. Instead, the use is pure hyperbole intended to gain emphasis, but it often appears in contexts where no additional emphasis is necessary. People use the word "literally" when they literally mean it actually, really, literally happened. And it has...
