The Imperfection of Communication: Is Your Communication Imago? (Part 2)
Last week’s post celebrated several conflicting interpretations of a flash fiction piece I wrote. Unfortunately, we rarely experience miscommunication issues with joy. When I speak, I want synchronicity of understanding with my audience. Is that hard to achieve? Yep!
An incorrect interpretation creates a miasma that fills in the lacuna in our words.
Did you understand that sentence? You might try to interpret what I meant through context, or maybe your mouth oscitated in shock, while you thought, “Barbara's talking about communication issues, and she tosses difficult words in the mix?”
A simpler version of my sentence above might be:
An incorrect interpretation creates a stinky mess that fills in the gaps in our words.
(FYI, oscitated means gaped .)
Simpler words increase the chance you’ll mirror my meaning, but they don’t guarantee it. We bring our own experiences to the conversation, throwing everything off because the significance of a word for me is different for you.
For fun—when you read the last word in this post, consider it. What image do you see? How do you feel about it? Few people will see or feel exactly the same thing. Post your answer and see.
The
word
is
cat.
_____________________________________________
It's Campaign Challenge time again, so for those of you not involved in this campaign, here's the challenge I tried to meet in the post above:
Write a blog post in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, whether flash fiction, non-fiction, humorous blog musings, poem, etc. The blog post should:
· include the word "imago" in the title
· include the following 4 random words: "miasma," "lacuna," "oscitate," "synchronicity,"
If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional and included in the word count), make reference to a mirror in your post.
For those who want an even greater challenge (optional), make your post 200 words EXACTLY!
I've got exactly 200 words. So how did I do? For fellow challengers, I'm number 146 . If you like this, please vote for me.
Comments
Have fun.
When I saw CAT, I was totally turned off. I'm not a cat person AT ALL, and I'm allergic. I immediately thought of misery and sneezing and itchy, watery eyes.
The cat I saw is a sandy-coloured domestic shorthair. He's trying to sit on my laptop as I type, so I was never going to picture any other sort!
My entry for the Challenge is #3.
Also, I thought of my neighbor's striped cat, the one with the blue collar and white feet that sneaks around my yard and scares my dog.
Fun concept for the challenge, btw!
Great entry, by the way, Barbara, the words did not seem out of place at all and it was very conversational and clear.
Me? I'm like Katy. Yuck! I'm allergic.
PS I've done this activity in training classes and had people see cats, dogs, lions, tigers, caterpillar equipment, catfish, cat paw prints, witches (around Halloween), and more!
Great job! :)
You wove those words so well - great stuff
Great post--and did you actually complete the challenge? Yikes! I never would have guessed. Nicely done.
I gave you the versatile blogger award in my latest post. Check it out and pass it on.
LOL. I love pets, but I wouldn't want another cat. For a long time. :P
Great approach to the challenge! This is one of the few actual blog posts that I've come across.
My entry.
Loved your use of the challenge words too!
I pictured my cat, Eilish, who I had to give away after 6 years! I ended up in the hospital with hives covering my body and face, hooked up to I.V. meds, and miserable on Christmas Eve morning! Apparently, you can develop severe allergies at any time in your life to things which never bothered you before. Who knew?? I loved that fat little girl...she was such a sweetie. ~ Nadja
Cat...my first thought was of algae eyes blinking at me from under a piece of furniture. She was the shiest cat I've ever met :) The word cat brings back fond memories of her greeting me at the door after work, her grooming the hair on my forearm while we watched TV, and sharing pizza.
I guess I’ve always been more of a dog person, anyway—outdoor dogs.
I really like cats but unfortunately I'm allergic :(
(I'm entry #112)
I thought of the word "catharsis" ... simply because I'm not a lover of the feline furry-creatures .
My entry at no.#185
I must be tackling too much road construction lately. Cat, to me, immediately brought an image of a Caterpillar bulldozer or grader plowing away at the earth.
Good thing this wasn't a Rorschach test. Ha!
Again, GREAT job with the challenge. I am #175.
Thanks for stopping by.
all the time along with a cup of coffee.
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