Communication | Paraphrasing What They Say

Communication is always part of our life, and through technology it doesn't only happens face-to-face but even online. There are many barriers that will hinder that effectivity of our communication, but by just being aware of those barriers, we can have an effective communication. When we say Paraphrasing, we are changing the words in a statement but the main thought of the statement is still the same.

I was reading a book the other day and one passage that catch my attention was this;

"Five weeks ago I sent the revised manuscript of my textbook to the publisher. I was excited because I felt the changes I had made were excellent. You can imagine how I felt when I got the book back yesterday and one reviewer said he couldn't see that this draft was much different from the first."

Content Paraphrase

"If I have this correct, you're saying that the person who reviewed the manuscript saw no difference, yet you think your draft was both different and better."

Feelings Paraphrase

"You seem disappointed that the reviewer didn't recognize that changes you had made."

• Communicate by Rudolph F. Verderber • Fifth Edition

Let us take a look in the side of the listener; listener's content and listener's feelings. I can relate this text to the usual situation that we have while talking to others. In the Philippines, we have these Marites, they are those members of the community who likes to do gossips. And I have observed that they convey information to others based on their feelings, which can make commotion to the two parties. On the other hand, in my case, if I need to state information to others I prefer to convey it as exactly on how I heard it. If I cannot remember exactly the words, I tend to say "just like this".

How about you?

My father is the vice chairman in our Purok(Area), and since the Chairman isn't that active then he is the one who settle arguments or complains. Last month, he settled three couples which the cause of their arguments are these girls(the wives) who keep on spreading rumors which they got from somewhere. Since their relationship are not that good they paraphrase statements to others based on their feelings. At the end, they are all settled and prefer not to make the situation worse as if it will reach to the court, they need to pay more.

This only shows that it is really important that we are conscious about the information that we convey. In sharing what we have heard or read, we cannot say it word by word, but just on how we understand the statement. Sometimes, even we understand the statement and the purpose of the speaker, but since we are against about it, then we try to spread it out using inappropriate words and tone. Specially when you hate the other person and wants to make things bad.

Lastly, paraphrasing is a good thing. It helps us to formulate the statement based on our own understanding, but remember that Paraphrasing is different from Rephrasing. If you really need to convey a statement you must be aware and sure about it, or, if there's no need to tell prefer to shut your mouth.

________________________

It is been raining for weeks, the weather is so good to sleep but need to be productive. Lol

Dear readers, always take care of yourself, especially to my kababayans, don't forget to bring umbrella or jacket.

That's it for today :)

My appreciation to all my subscribers, upvoters, and commenters. May GOD Bless all of you!

• July 19, 2023

🖊️ Ling01