Hello Platt, Jamie, and Others,
Thinking about communication over the weekend perhaps we got off on the
wrong foot last week because we started with static definitions, which
are place holders for positions, in other words dogma. So, if (just for
the moment) we set aside our definitions of rhetoric, dialectic, and the
proper use of language (spelling, grammar, etc), and start with Quality,
let's see what we can construct. What follows is only one possibility,
intended to start discussion, not to be the final word.
My first assumption is that quality communication is about clarity, not
deception. I have an image in my mind that I wish to share. I want the
image that appears in your mind, following my communication, to match
exactly the image I have in my mind (ideally). This image is going to
have both classical and romantic (thinking and feeling) components.
Now that the purpose has been established, we can compare various
techniques against the standard of the purpose and see how effective
each technique, alone and in combination, is. To check on the
effectiveness of the communication we will need some kind of feedback to
compare to the original, so we're already into a dialogue, not a
monologue. Of course, this applies to all forms of communication; art,
the written and spoken word, body language, personal appearance, etc.
Feedback with the express purpose of finding out if the intended
audience got the intended message, is only one of many contents of the
context of dialogue, and may require several back and forths, a 'ringing
out', to insure maximum effectiveness of the chosen technique. Sounds
tedious, doesn't it?
So, to start with, I propose quality communication requires honesty and
the willingness to engage in feedback on the parts of both the initiator
and the audience.
Steve
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