Appendix C: Communicating Meaning

• Semantics: The Reader’s and Writer’s Roles

• Symbols Must Stand for the Same Thing for Sender and Receiver

• Bypassing occurs when two people use the same symbol to mean different things.

• 1. Be sensitive to contexts.

• 2. Consider the other person’s background and situation when interpreting or sending messages that contain symbols.

• 3. Mirror what the other person has said by putting it into your own words to verify accuracy.

• 4. Ask questions.