Say what you mean, and mean what you say

“The art of conversation is the art of hearing as well as being heard”

- William Hazlitt

In week 5 we gave our presentations for our class 'Issues in publication and design'. While they were all on a different topic they all had to abide by the rules of Reep- Diana Reep that is. The main rules of Reep are: Balance, proportion, sequence and consistency. When abided by correctly, they ensure the most effective piece of documentation, as the design of a simple sheet of paper will determine how many people pick it up and actually read it.

 

The topic I was given was 'The ethics of everyday language'. Using work from William Zinsser and Dr Neil James I emphasised the importance of everyday language in everyday life. I used the example of an American journalist- Toni Sieple who, in 1973 visited her gynaecologist complaining about abdominal pain. After examining her he said, "We can fix that, it's an easy repair" and booked her in for surgery. When admitted into hospital Sieple was asked to sign a consent form, she recalls looking at this form and not being able to understand it; confused, nervous and intimidated by the large amount of text she recalled her Doctors words "easy repair" and so, she signed. It was not until after her surgery that Sieple was informed the Surgeon had performed a hysterectomy, needless to say Sieple was distraught.

Luckily for her she was already a Mother of three but she was still concerned her Doctor had not told her. So, the issue here was, the Doctor did not say what he meant, which is one of Dr Neil James' rules for communication; and the consent form may as well have been in a foreign language.

 

Using examples of consent forms I expressed how important conversational language is in areas such as the medical profession, where they deal with the young, elderly, educated and mentally challenged people. In professions that require education, regardless of dealing with everyday people in everyday situations, they tend to give monologues as opposed to coversations. It is because of this that people like Toni Sieple walk out of an 'easy repair' with valuables missing.