Communication Is Never Just Words
Communication styles vary in many ways.
It’s never just the words you use. Even the written word can convey a degree of tone, intent, and attitude.
Communication is a complex mechanism of expression employed to convey ideas. It’s how you and I can share notions, agree and disagree, and expand (or, frankly, shrink) our overall knowledge base.
Communication can be both internal and external. When you are thinking about this, that, or the other thing, you’re communicating in your head. Maybe I can do this or perhaps I should do that or I can’t stand that other thing and the like. This can get complicated when you find yourself arguing with, debating, and/or contradicting yourself in the process.
That, turned outward, can become even more complicated. Why? Because communication is never just words, and when you start to talk to other people, additional cues and such become part of the overall process.
Sometimes this is easy to read. When you stand there, hands on hips, glaring, this conveys to me, beyond words, that you’re probably angry. Other times, however, it’s far more subtle, and frequently misconstrued, misunderstood, and misinterpreted.
This is why it’s important to recognize that communication is never just words.