What You Say Isn't Always What Is Heard: The Transference Of Meaning

There are many different definitions of communication. “The transference of meaning and understanding,” is one such definition used by more and more communication researchers. This definition embraces the process of communication and not just the act of communication. Communication is an ongoing process that involves a sender, message, channel of communication, and a receiver. The starting and ending point of this process has many opportunities for ambiguity and distortion that mean the difference between understanding and confusion.

The sender conceives a message and encodes that message with their intended meaning. This encoding involves semantics, intonation, and voice pitch, range, and volume. The variables of each of these elements are huge. Imagine someone saying the word “help” in a calm and conversational manner versus the same person saying “help” in high pitch and volume. Their intended meaning is communicated not with what they said, but how they said it.

In routine business conversations the meaning we intend is critical to its understanding. Just as the sender encodes a message, the receiver decodes the message with the desire to understand and respond. The receiver decodes the material using their own generational, cultural, and socio-economical background. When looked at a simple message in these terms it is not hard to imagine why misunderstanding occurs.

The channel of communication is also a rich ground for potential misunderstanding. Channels of communication each have their own benefits and limitations. Telephone communication is a rich medium for communication because it allows for a full range of emotive and informational dialogue. The power of the voice is an awesome tool for communication purposes. Where written words are useful for transmitting information, what better way is there to convey meaning? This is one primary reason what call and contact centers have replaced direct mailing as a sales tool. Human beings can convey the excitement and drama that a message contains far more effectively than an email or glossy flyer. The important thing is that the excitement and drama the message contains reaches the listener in the manner in which it is intended. Vocal training allows the sender to adjust their delivery to reduce ambiguity and distortion.

If the sender can gauge inflection, intonation, and language to the listener the opportunities for misunderstanding are greatly reduced and the opportunity for mutual understanding is enhanced. This mutual understanding leads to a successful transfer of information and will certainly add to the bottom line of any company that relies on communication to generate profits. The objective of any call and contact center is the successful transference of meaning and understanding and companies need to seize any opportunity available to protect and maximize this process.

Vocal conditioning and training give companies a first line of defense against the distortion and tension that can impede the successful outcomes they depend upon. This program is a valuable tool that allows agents to enjoy the success of having their message understood, received, and respected.

Katherine M. Hart is President and Founder of Hartfelt Communications, a professional training and communications imaging company. Over the past 25 years, Ms. Hart has trained over 25,000 Call Center Agents, Corporate Executives, Politicians, Actors, Community Leaders. She has developed several programs including ICALL and the Communications Connection - a corporate communications training program to work with developing strong internal communications protocols that translate to greater customer satisfaction. For many other presentation, training, and vocal empowerment programs, please visit