The Art Of Communication

 “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” – George Bernard Shaw. 

I cannot for the life of me find where or when GBS uttered or wrote these words, but as writers I imagine that we probably agree on his point.  

Whether we write fiction, non-fiction, poetry or prose, devotionals or descriptions, a shopping list or an obituary, we each have something to communicate with our words and may, after many hours of head-scratching and grafting, think we’ve done a fantastic job (not quite so necessary for the shopping lists, of course).  It might even be so. However, that can only truly be confirmed by the reader or, if we’re very fortunate and prepared to listen carefully, by our editor and/or beta readers before our words hit the street, as it were.

While we wrestle to put our words together in coherent sentences we can over-explain, under-explain or simply muddy the waters leaving our reader(s) floundering.  To illustrate, let me share a few messages that have arrived on my phone since I’ve been back in Africa.  Changing the SIM card means changing culture, and it’s always interesting, if often a little baffling. 

The messages below are exactly as they were delivered to my phone (capital letters always make me feel the sender is shouting at me, which really doesn’t help):

 ‘changamkia MASHULAA BONUS! MORE WINNERS OF 1K to 300K, PIA UNAWEZA NYAKUA 5K YA MASHUJAA DAY! CHEZA SAHII REPLY with 1234567’

Google translate tells me this is Swahili for: ‘get excited about BONUS LESSONS! MORE WINNERS OF 1K to 300K, YOU CAN ALSO WIN 5K OF HEROES DAY! PLAY CORRECT REPLY with 1234567’

(‘Lessons in what?’ I hear you mutter, as did I. Swahili, perhaps?)

‘TUNAJUUA HOLIDAY IMEVURUGA MFUKO YAKO!!... BADO TUNAPEANA MBAVU ZA MASHUJAA! BET NDANI YA APP NA 99/=UPDATE500 BOB LEO!!’

Also Swahili: 

‘WE KNOW THE HOLIDAY HAS BREAKED YOUR WALLET!!... WE STILL GIVE YOU THE HERO RIBS! BET WITHIN THE APP WITH 99/=UPDATE500 BOB TODAY!!’

(My wallet has been whimpering soulfully for some time.  I’m not sure that ribs of any species will console it at this point.) 

‘Dear Aubrey, say goodbye to sky-high insurance premiums!  Start saving with King Price.’

 (I have no idea who Aubrey is/was)

‘ASSUPOL: Under 65yrs old? Get Assupol Funeral Plan for cover up to R75,000. No medical questions! Reply Yes (free Reply)… Ts & Cs apply’

(Having just turned 60, I suppose I should be adulting at a new level since my current funeral plan indicates I need to be buried quietly at sea with minimum fuss.)

I have another message for Aubrey, one more offer of funeral cover, invitations to play the LOTTO as well as one to a free ‘Safe sleep for infants’ webinar at which I could potentially win a R5,000 prize.  Or not.

My icon currently tells me I have forty-nine of these irrelevant and confusing goodies awaiting my attention, although in reality I will actually be employing the delights of the delete button rather than wading through them all.

All this has given me a giggle and, I hope, some light entertainment for you lovely ACW-ers, but the fact is that we are in the business of communicating our thoughts, feelings, ideas, stories, dreams, discoveries and convictions in words which hit the target for our readers understanding, edification, entertainment and/or education.  It behoves us, therefore, to spend the time shaping those words to do that to the best of our abilities.  

Having begun and ended with seeking God’s insight, inspiration and blessing, let’s keep pace with Him in that middle bit of crafting, rewriting, editing and perfecting them as much as we can, trusting that illusions are appropriately shattered and communication has truly taken place.

Jenny Sanders has spent the last eleven years living between the UK and South Africa. She writes faith-inspired non-fiction: Spiritual Feasting (2020) asks how we can ‘feast’ when life serves unpalatable menus; Polished Arrows is available now, exploring the allegory of  God shaping us to be fired effectively into our culture and contexts.   

              

Jenny also has two published collections of humorous short stories for Key Stage 2 children. She is available for author visits in primary schools, taking creative writing sessions.  She loves walking in nature, preferably by a river, and has a visceral loathing for offal, pineapple and incorrect use of car indicators on roundabouts.