Communication is a two-way street….

My twins and I often, while walking has discussions about the importance of language. In particular, we have argued that the dictionary is arbitrary versus an archive of language. They argue that there was language before there were dictionaries.  They focus on the creation of language as an aspect of everyday life and not a core component of communication. I know as they get older that argument will dissipate. The reason I know is that is an argument I had with my father many years ago. Dictionaries are both a component of language, but they are also the arbiter of communication. The words that are not currently in the dictionary or definitions not currently widely accepted cause communication problems. The word means one thing. If you modify a word outside of the accepted definitions then well you are risking communication failure.

The reason language and communication are so critical, and by extension, the dictionary comes from the long-ago history of humanity. Pictures, drawn on cave walls could convey a message. But one of the reasons for that communication had to do with the reality of the communication structure. Every tribe had a language: 1000’s of languages and no arbiter. No one was writing down what things meant. The Rosetta stone did more for deciphering the language of Ancient Egypte that anything previous to that. Why? Because it created a dictionary of Ancient Egyptian. Once you have a basis point, it is a lot easier to communicate in a structured manner. Personally, that is one of the big drivers for me, with the Travis Touch system. The ability to communicate easily.

Throughout my professional career, I’ve had bosses that communicated in one of two ways, yelling or deriding. They didn’t understand how to lead and manage people. I’ve worked with people that were scary. Very smart person but they literally, scared people. Few people would argue with them because they were scary. I’ve worked with people that build consensus and deliver projects. The thing they all had in common was language and communication. That drives out of the dictionary. Try the following experiment for a day. Pick ten words and look them up. Using the dictionary for the lookup, pick the 3rd or 4th definition of the word and work it into a conversation. See how quickly people are lost and confused!