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Bud Grossmann’s
Words of the Week
for the Week of
May 31, 2008
Previously unpublished chart.
© 2008 by Bud Grossmann.
All Rights Reserved.
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Pillow Talk, 2004
© 2004 by Bud Grossmann
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COMPARATIVELY SPEAKING
| MEDIUM |
ADVANTAGES |
DISADVANTAGES |
| face-to-face conversation |
tone, volume, hesitations, facial expressions, body language, etc., enrich the words themselves; these can be conveyed in writing but seldom as accurately, completely, or efficiently as in conversation
immediate feedback, immediate opportunity to discover and correct misunderstandings |
may be burdensome or impossible to get together with the person
may be time consuming
surroundings may be distracting
may be hard to end the conversation
each participant may experience the conversation differently and later recall it differently; the differences are likely to become greater as time goes by |
| phone conversation |
almost like face-to-face, except facial expression and body language are absent |
about the same as face-to-face
can't evaluate what other things are competing at the moment for the other person's attention |
| voice mail |
pretty good for giving simple messages if you can confirm them later |
high risk of saying something unwise and having no good way to "unring the bell" |
| most written forms of communication |
writer usually can carefully choose what to say and how to say it
reader can choose the time, and take her time, to read it
reader may draw inferences from the choice of stationery, neatness of handwriting, size of the script, color of ink, scribbles in the margin, how hard the pen pressed the paper, font choices, etc.
reader (and sender, if sender keeps a copy) can look back over a message and contemplate or comment on a specific choice of words (giving the writer a chance to retract or revise those words, perhaps) |
sender doesn't immediately know if other person received it
sender doesn't know what circumstances or mood the recipient will be in when she reads the message
incriminating evidence may be difficult to deny or escape |
| handwritten letter on paper |
see above |
see above |
| postcard |
brief |
likely to be superficial |
| greeting card |
brief
reader may draw inferences from cost of the card, perceived appropriateness, sender's taste, etc. |
may be impersonal
may be ambiguous |
| e-mail |
quick
inexpensive |
may facilitate impulsive, unclear, or unkind expression |
| Instant Messaging, texting |
feedback is prompt |
generally less expressive than spoken words |
| audio tape, video |
except that clarifications and corrections can't be made immediately because the sender must wait for the recipient's response, these media have most of the advantages of face-to-face or phone conversations |
time consuming
generally difficult to find a particular passage if you want to listen to it again |
| fiction, poetry |
deniability |
ambiguity |
| music, painting, baking, hugging, etc. |
often more intensely expressive than words |
seldom precise in conveying ideas or facts |
♦
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