High-context and low-context, in case you're wondering, is about how people talk. High-context people, when asked a question, will give you the answer, and all the surrounding reasons, plus the history of the building, what they had for breakfast this morning, and how their mother's operation went. Low-context people will give you the exact answer to what you asked - nothing more. Both can be difficult to deal with - sometimes you just want a simple "yes" or "no", and not all the reasons for that decision, because you just want to get the email sent and go home, please. And sometimes you need to know a little more than "yes" or "no", and having to drag every bit of information can be like pulling teeth.
It helped me deal with certain people at my previous work - one woman in particular would only give a direct, brusque answer, and I used to find her incredibly rude. But I learnt to see it as just the way she talks, and I could deal with it without taking it personally. (She was, actually, kind of rude, but I think some of that was in response to how other people reacted to her - she probably lived in a world of bad attitudes, and didn't realise she was bringing a lot of that upon herself.)
I started out with a point... Oh, yes: written communication is just as bad, if not worse, as most people aren't trained to express themselves emotionally through their writing. People on LJ are pretty good, but I think that's because it's pretty writing-centric. But people day-to-day don't necessarily know how their writing makes them appear.
I still think this guy is being rude to me, though.
---
See y'all later for the AIM
![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
redial_the_gateHathor rewatch, eh?
Page Summary
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Designed by chasethestars
chasethestars
Comments
There is a thing called a paragraph break. It is very useful.
I think high-context vs. low-context is something to remember for when I next ask a certain friend something. Maybe I can say, "I'd really like a low-context answer to this question. Just give me the basics, please." Might come in handy.
I'd also love a phrase I can use with my not-boss (we're training a new advisor, and I'm supposed to help but not do everything for him) to say, "This is something you should do--not me," without it sounding rude and impertinent. Not that your situation is equivalent, but...yeah. Boo on dense, rude people.
White space. Love it. Use it. *g*
Heh. I keep wanting to go on a neuro-linguistic programming course - it's creepy how, with the right sort of words and body langugage, you can have a huge, HUGE influence on how other people respond.
And yeah, it's a nice thing to be aware of, the high/low thing - you can prepare in advance for dealing with it. I learnt about it about a couple of years ago, and it still pops into my head fairly often.
Ooooh...the shiny opportunities for manipulation... I want to do this, too.