Thank you, Michael. Thank you very much. This is ONE area I actually know something about. No formal degrees, mind you. And, therefore, I cannot "claim" any professional authority.... Hence, to hear your response is very gratifying. Pat
Quoting michael_080:
Pat,
Excellent analogy! You said it better than I've ever heard it before or have ever been able to say it myself. THAT is exactly how I think as well. Very enlightening. Thank you so much!
Michael
Quoting michael_080:
Pat,
Excellent analogy! You said it better than I've ever heard it before or have ever been able to say it myself. THAT is exactly how I think as well. Very enlightening. Thank you so much!
Michael
Thank you, Michael. Thank you very much. This is ONE area I actually know something about. No formal degrees, mind you. And, therefore, I cannot "claim" any professional authority.... Hence, to hear your response is very gratifying. Pat
Very true, Michael: A few people will tell you that being selective in the words you use is a bunch of self help, psychobabble.
And whoever these few people are, they are clearly not students of linguistics. Or diplomacy. Or even Marketing 101 [I think Marketing....I never studied marketing, so I'm guessing...] Here's an example I think you'll appreciate [though I already KNOW some on here won't]. You spouse has laid down the law most firmly: When you leave the basement to come upstairs, turn off all those lights down there; we need to keep our electricity bill as low as possible. A day or so later, knowing your spouse was in the basement last night to put a load of clothes in the dryer, you go down to the basement the next morning to get the clothes out of the dryer and find that your spouse left ALL the lights on overnight. When you go upstairs, your spouse looks up from his morning coffee and says: "Did you turn all the lights off?" Do you then say: "YOU left all the lights on down there last night, and yes, I turned them all off." Or do you say: "All the lights were on when I went downstairs..... But, I turned them off when I left."
BIG difference in how the very same information hits the guilty spouse in the heart and the head. In the second scenario, assuming we're talking about fairly reasonable people, the guilty party has not been put on the defensive, and there's a pretty good chance some healthy joking can ensue. In the first scenario, there's a good chance the speaker will put the guilty party on the defensive, and the next thing you know, you could very well have a needless argument going that will ruin both parties' day. So, yes---or rather, no. I definitely do not think the selective use of words is psychobabble or any other kin of claptrap. Pat
Very true, Michael: A few people will tell you that being selective in the words you use is a bunch of self help, psychobabble.
And whoever these few people are, they are clearly not students of linguistics. Or diplomacy. Or even Marketing 101 [I think Marketing....I never studied marketing, so I'm guessing...] Here's an example I think you'll appreciate [though I already KNOW some on here won't]. You spouse has laid down the law most firmly: When you leave the basement to come upstairs, turn off all those lights down there; we need to keep our electricity bill as low as possible. A day or so later, knowing your spouse was in the basement last night to put a load of clothes in the dryer, you go down to the basement the next morning to get the clothes out of the dryer and find that your spouse left ALL the lights on overnight. When you go upstairs, your spouse looks up from his morning coffee and says: "Did you turn all the lights off?" Do you then say: "YOU left all the lights on down there last night, and yes, I turned them all off." Or do you say: "All the lights were on when I went downstairs..... But, I turned them off when I left."
BIG difference in how the very same information hits the guilty spouse in the heart and the head. In the second scenario, assuming we're talking about fairly reasonable people, the guilty party has not been put on the defensive, and there's a pretty good chance some healthy joking can ensue. In the first scenario, there's a good chance the speaker will put the guilty party on the defensive, and the next thing you know, you could very well have a needless argument going that will ruin both parties' day. So, yes---or rather, no. I definitely do not think the selective use of words is psychobabble or any other kin of claptrap. Pat
LOL. Michael. "Discontentiousness?" After almost tripping over that word, I decided to G**gle it. You did make it up. One of your articles came up as well. I enjoyed reading it. Obama's fortunes have sure changed since you wrote it...
LOL. Michael. "Discontentiousness?" After almost tripping over that word, I decided to G**gle it. You did make it up. One of your articles came up as well. I enjoyed reading it. Obama's fortunes have sure changed since you wrote it...
