Communication deals with the way we transfer messages or news to one another. Interpretation, or the way one depicts info, goes along with communication. How the sender expects the receiver to interpret the information and how the receiver actually interprets the information can be different. Misinterpretation can come from ineffective tone, diction, or even punctuation.
A user of the popular social media app, instagram, posted a post on the interpretation of a sentence, “A woman without her man is nothing”. The post then goes to explain how males and females interpret the sentence. Males interpret the sentence, as “A woman, without her man, is nothing” simply meaning that woman are incompatible without a man. However the females interpreted the same information to mean that a man is nothing without woman, “ A woman: without her, man is nothing”. Same sentence but with two completely opposite meanings just from punctuation. This one example shows how inadequate punctuation can alter communication.
However this problem can be solved simply by one easy step. One must always remember to double-check any written information. Another person can also go over the written message or information to see if their interpretation matches with the initial planned interpretation the sender tried to achieve.
This is a very important topic because it can relate to anyone’s career of choice. Miscommunication can determine action of ones employment. It can also be used on any and every project whether work or school related. The senders’ diction, tone, and even punctuation should always be evaluated more than once before sending the data or information to its intended receiver.