“The great irony of communication is that we individually struggle so
ardently to be noticed and be heard, but once that has been
accomplished, we are struck with terror and wonder at what actually was
heard.”
It’s actually mine. It was a realization I came to about a year and a half ago. I was going through my old (unpublished) xanga entries last night as I was writing “my life story” for my pastor, and I came across it. It was a thought in progress, and I was still trying to massage the phrasing and wording until I got it right. That never happened… and since I’ve stopped working on it for awhile, I thought I would publish it and see what responses I would get.
So… what are your thoughts on it?
I thought you surely had taken it from a speech or essay. It took me a minute to understand (ironically!) the second half of the sentence, but once the concept sank through, I found I agree with it whole-heartedly.
Thanks for the feedback. Do you have any thoughts on making the second half of the sentence more clear? That was one of the things I was struggling with when I was trying to write this.
The other big thing I was struggling with was to not repeat the word “heard.” Rhythmically, it just doesn’t sound right. Although I think I could convince myself to appreciate the dual usage of the word “heard” in this case. As in heard/acknowledged and heard/interpreted.
What do you think of the following?
“”The great irony of communication is that we ardently struggle to be heard, but once that has been accomplished, we are struck dumb at how we are understood.”
Thanks for the input. I enjoy dissecting sentences like this.
Your revision is certainly clearer, but I think it loses some of its original meaning.
“we are struck dumb at how we are understood” implies that we know what the other person has understood, and as a result, we are flabbergasted at this game of telephone.
In the original statement:
“we are struck with terror and wonder at what actually was heard,” implies that we are now wondering what message was actually conveyed, and we are mortified of the potential miscommunication and the consequences of what was unintentionally passed along.
The original statement is one that is characterized by a person who is bound by fear and specifically, the fear of man.
Your rewritten statement is one that is characterized by personal confidence and the disappointment in one’s fellow humanity.
Then this really IS ironic, because I rewrote the sentence to mean what I thought you meant it to mean.
*Sigh*
Perhaps the problem is just with me after all.
No, not necessarily. The problem is with clarity.
I do think the original sentence has too many words to be clear - maybe if you could start fresh and try to express the concept again, you’ll fare better.
The writing process really is the thinking process on paper. I’d love to see this concept made clear.
“The contrast of control over what we say and what is heard is both amusing and terrifying all at once.”
RYC: I’m not going to make it up this weekend: I have a meeting I can’t miss late Friday night, and there’s swing dancing on Saturday. I’m going to try for during the week next week, if I can get my car inspected.
Hey, I got the meaning you intended out of your sentence. (I have never heard of anyone trying to write a new quotation before. *heehee*) I agree with the sentiment, and it has that “selected out of a great work of literature” quality. If it has any weakness, I think the most obvious would be the “that.” My experience is whenever I encounter a “that,” I experience a momentary paralysis of my train of thought as I search for the antecedent, if that it the word. In your sentence, the “that” is physically distant from its antecedent, which can be jarring. I would leave it alone, though, because its placement makes the sentence sound like it came from a bigger paragraph of discussion.
Your second sentence…I vote no.
^ChrisRusso, you swing dance? Cool.
I agree with jalixx3. The second sentence is inferior to the first, though I do agree with you that the ending of the first is a bit awkward, but I still got the meaning.
Wow, I’m impressed with what you wrote! Thought you got it off a book or something.
Anyway, I think it’s something I can imagine you saying, given how you seem to be very passionate about communication and community.
Awesome quote. way to go Chris Russo.
RYC: When I heard the joke, it was “sex is sinful because it leads to dancing.”
@ChrisRusso - I presume you commented here so that it wouldn’t clog up your discussion, so I’ll follow your lead. Yes, Chris, I actually meant that to be a private joke between you and me. The joke originally was “sex is sinful because it leads to dancing,” and I meant to evoke that thought by saying “dancing is sinful because it leads to sex” which is a joke in and of itself. Jokes upon jokes. I meant it to be funny on multiple layers.
Holy cow that’s accurate.
@squeakysoul - I’m not much of a writer, and it’s kinda ironic that when I finally do write something I like, ChrisRusso ends up getting the credit for it.
Nice Pantene post. I’m allergic to the stuff. And there aren’t too many things I am allergic to.
i like this paradox.
but then wilde said, it’s better to be talked about than not.
Very nice quote! I’m impressed you came up with it yourself.
Comments (24)
Wow. That is… really really true.
Whose quote, Bokgai?
Sonnetjoy,
It’s actually mine. It was a realization I came to about a year and a half ago. I was going through my old (unpublished) xanga entries last night as I was writing “my life story” for my pastor, and I came across it. It was a thought in progress, and I was still trying to massage the phrasing and wording until I got it right. That never happened… and since I’ve stopped working on it for awhile, I thought I would publish it and see what responses I would get.
So… what are your thoughts on it?
I thought you surely had taken it from a speech or essay. It took me a minute to understand (ironically!) the second half of the sentence, but once the concept sank through, I found I agree with it whole-heartedly.
Thanks for the feedback. Do you have any thoughts on making the second half of the sentence more clear? That was one of the things I was struggling with when I was trying to write this.
The other big thing I was struggling with was to not repeat the word “heard.” Rhythmically, it just doesn’t sound right. Although I think I could convince myself to appreciate the dual usage of the word “heard” in this case. As in heard/acknowledged and heard/interpreted.
What do you think of the following?
“”The great irony of communication is that we ardently struggle to be heard, but once that has been accomplished, we are struck dumb at how we are understood.”
Thanks for the input. I enjoy dissecting sentences like this.
Your revision is certainly clearer, but I think it loses some of its original meaning.
“we are struck dumb at how we are understood” implies that we know what the other person has understood, and as a result, we are flabbergasted at this game of telephone.
In the original statement:
“we are struck with terror and wonder at what actually was heard,” implies that we are now wondering what message was actually conveyed, and we are mortified of the potential miscommunication and the consequences of what was unintentionally passed along.
The original statement is one that is characterized by a person who is bound by fear and specifically, the fear of man.
Your rewritten statement is one that is characterized by personal confidence and the disappointment in one’s fellow humanity.
Then this really IS ironic, because I rewrote the sentence to mean what I thought you meant it to mean.
*Sigh*
Perhaps the problem is just with me after all.
No, not necessarily. The problem is with clarity.
I do think the original sentence has too many words to be clear - maybe if you could start fresh and try to express the concept again, you’ll fare better.
The writing process really is the thinking process on paper. I’d love to see this concept made clear.
“The contrast of control over what we say and what is heard is both amusing and terrifying all at once.”
RYC: I’m not going to make it up this weekend: I have a meeting I can’t miss late Friday night, and there’s swing dancing on Saturday. I’m going to try for during the week next week, if I can get my car inspected.
Hey, I got the meaning you intended out of your sentence. (I have never heard of anyone trying to write a new quotation before. *heehee*) I agree with the sentiment, and it has that “selected out of a great work of literature” quality. If it has any weakness, I think the most obvious would be the “that.” My experience is whenever I encounter a “that,” I experience a momentary paralysis of my train of thought as I search for the antecedent, if that it the word. In your sentence, the “that” is physically distant from its antecedent, which can be jarring. I would leave it alone, though, because its placement makes the sentence sound like it came from a bigger paragraph of discussion.
Your second sentence…I vote no.
^ChrisRusso, you swing dance? Cool.
I agree with jalixx3. The second sentence is inferior to the first, though I do agree with you that the ending of the first is a bit awkward, but I still got the meaning.
Wow, I’m impressed with what you wrote! Thought you got it off a book or something.
Anyway, I think it’s something I can imagine you saying, given how you seem to be very passionate about communication and community.
Awesome quote. way to go Chris Russo.
RYC: When I heard the joke, it was “sex is sinful because it leads to dancing.”
@ChrisRusso - I presume you commented here so that it wouldn’t clog up your discussion, so I’ll follow your lead. Yes, Chris, I actually meant that to be a private joke between you and me. The joke originally was “sex is sinful because it leads to dancing,” and I meant to evoke that thought by saying “dancing is sinful because it leads to sex” which is a joke in and of itself. Jokes upon jokes. I meant it to be funny on multiple layers.
Holy cow that’s accurate.
@squeakysoul - I’m not much of a writer, and it’s kinda ironic that when I finally do write something I like, ChrisRusso ends up getting the credit for it.
Nice Pantene post. I’m allergic to the stuff. And there aren’t too many things I am allergic to.
i like this paradox.
but then wilde said, it’s better to be talked about than not.
Very nice quote! I’m impressed you came up with it yourself.