Chapter 5 summary-Creating & Using Meaning

In chapter five the author states the definition of meaning will not be found in this chapter, or in this book. The author asks me, the reader to come up with my own definition for the word. In my opinion the definition of meaning is the clearly marked limits of a word, and its intentions. The author was accurate to state, “Meaning is a difficult concept to define or describe.” It did take me a while to come up with my definition. The author then goes on to say, understanding the way we acquire and interpret meaning can help people communicate more effectively. Differences in meaning can often lead to miscommunication. We assume when we create and transmit messages to others our meanings are always understood. We forget that other people see the world through their own eyes, just as we see it through our own eyes. My understanding of a meaning might completely different from someone else’s understanding of the same meaning. Conveyor-belt flaw is what this flaw is called. We assume when we transmit a message to another person they will automatically understand our message. They will physically get our message but that doesn’t guarantee our meaning will be accepted the way we intended it to be. In addition to containing words, sentences, and visual images, messages also contain intended and interpreted meanings. Intended meaning is the meaning the sender has in mind when creating a message. Interpreted meaning is the meaning that the receiver interprets upon receiving the message. Perception is the act of becoming aware through our senses. Perception starts when we receive and mentally record sensory information. Organization is the ordering and categorizing of information you receive, and then associating it with knowledge already known to you about people, ideas, and objects. Once you have received sensory information and then organized it you begin to interpret what the experience may mean to you. When we interpret, we are actually analyzing what we are experiencing and associating it with past experiences that share similarities. Perception, organization, and interpretation can take place in no time at all. Meaning is an internal process that is created and interpreted by people. Although people don’t always agree on meanings they do agree on the interpretations of signs and symbols. A sign is something that people can agree represents something else. Symbols are types of signs that have no natural link to what it represents, although they can have an indirect association. For example, when kids see a picture of Ronald McDonald, they automatically think of the restaurant McDonalds. Context is one layer of several that is involved in the creation of meaning. It is the physical, social, and psychological situation in which a event of communication occurs in. Intrapersonal context is the act of thinking and communicating with ourselves, internally. During at which time we are decoding and encoding internal and external stimuli. Intrapersonal decoding is the process of receiving data that can originate inside or outside ourselves, interpreting it, and assigning meaning to the data. Intrapersonal encoding is the process of organizing data and translating thoughts into a controlled internal response. For example, during my math class I practice intrapersonal encoding. I organize the data I receive, and my thoughts always translate into the same internal response. How irrelevant math is for me, how much I dislike it, and how I can’t wait till class is over. A personal history context is our remembrance of past experiences, which we then use to make meaning and sense of new experiences. Cultural context is the connection people share through their collective experience in social life. This experience is a sociocultural perception. It provides the assumptions for how we should behave, think, and feel as members of society. Interpersonal context interaction helps people shape verbal and non verbal messages transmitted to them by the people around them, such as family members and friends. In a business context setting, people use their skills to interpret their professional experiences from their business perspectives. In business, context messages are framed differently than they are in interpersonal context. They are more structured and formal in design. Semantics is the relationship between words and the meanings people attach to them. Words don’t contain independent meanings; rather People attach symbols and create connections between those symbols to generate ideas and meaningful concepts. Concrete words are words that are associated with objects or events that people experience through their senses. Abstract words symbolize ideas and concepts that people can not directly experience through their senses. For example, words such as absolute, and interest are abstract words. Business message meanings can be specific or they can be vague. A specific business message is straightforward, and to the point. Intentions are clearly expressed and disclose what the sender wants, feels, and needs. Specific messages are devised to simplify the reader’s understanding of meaning. Vague business messages state the sender’s intentions in ambiguous language. Meanings are not always clear. These messages are uses sometimes when the sender is unsure of the receiver’s reaction. When messages are not interpreted correctly, the way the sender wants then to be, then they might put the blame on the receiver for the misunderstanding. It is up to the sender to send clear messages so that the receiver will have less difficulty understanding the intended meaning of the message. The lesson of this chapter is just because you physically send a message does not guarantee it will be received the way you intended it to be received. Meaning is a process of perception and interpretation. The notion of the various contexts of meanings was new to me. I learned what a context is and all the different contexts that create conditions for different interpretations of meanings.