Gratuitous Use of Synonyms, Aliases, and Metaphors

You're in a meeting that has been tangled in this one agenda item for 25 minutes, which is about 24 minutes longer than it was worth. The group is trying to decide whether to include a not-ready-for-prime-time component in the latest prototype. Finally, the lone holdout asks, "Wait. Are you saying that the Delta version of this thing is identical to the Gamma version?"

Five people respond in an enthusiastic chorus, "Yes!"

Holdout replies, "Then why do the two versions have different names?"

One member of the chorus has an explanation: "Delta used to have the Prime enhancements, and Gamma didn't. But Prime got cancelled last Thursday, so Delta had to be reverted to the Gamma configuration. To save time, we copied the Gamma version and gave the copy the name Delta."

Holdout replies, "Ok then, I agree, we can go with it as is."

So there went 24 minutes that nobody can get back, all because of a misunderstanding about a name.

Misunderstandings of this kind can arise for many reasons. Three of the most frustrating are the gratuitous uses of synonyms, aliases, and metaphors. I call these usages gratuitous because they're elective and unnecessary.

For example, the term hardcopy is fairly well understood by everyone. When someone asks, "Can we get this document in hardcopy?" we understand that he or she is asking for a version of the document that's produced by a printer or copier. But some people, for some reason, might ask for the dead tree version. Thinking about it for a moment, we realize that the request is for hardcopy. And hearing this phrase for the first time, we might even be amused.

Using the term dead tree version is gratuitous. It's elective and unnecessary. And although it's amusing to some, its usage can create problems. The problem with gratuitous use of synonyms, aliases, and metaphors traces to the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 and regional dialects

Before the Before the COVID-19 pandemic led to widespread
adoption of virtual work arrangements, communication
between members of groups and teams was more
likely to be face-to-face than it is nowCOVID-19 pandemic led to lockdowns and the rapid spread of virtual work arrangements, communication between members of groups and teams was more likely to be face-to-face than it is now. Communication was therefore more immediate. Interactions occurred in hallways, in elevators, at coffee stations, and in face-to-face meetings. If someone used a new term or used ean old term in a new way, the usage would spread rapidly. If we heard a term that was unfamiliar, we could ask a colleague privately for clarification.

But when COVID-19 forced us into a virtual format, communication became less immediate. New terms or new usages of old terms spread more slowly, because we were more separated from each other. And asking a colleague for clarification became more difficult because of that same separation.

Although the pandemic's intensity is now reduced, many work arrangements remain more virtual than they once were. One result is that in our increasingly virtual working environment, there are more ways of referring to the same thing. This happens because we take longer to arrive at consensus names for things, or consensus usages of the terms we have. Our shared vocabulary is far more diverse, and the part of our vocabulary that is shared is reduced. We're developing "regional" dialects, even within companies and teams.

Synonyms, aliases, and metaphors

A measure of this confusion is the degree of variety in the language we use. Three channels that enable this diversification are synonyms, aliases, and metaphors.

Synonyms

Two words are synonyms for each other if one can be used as a substitute for the other. The state of being a synonym is a matter of degree, because no two words mean precisely the same thing in every context.

Aliases

An alias is a secondary name for something that has a primary name. For example, Marigold might be the project's official name. Its alias might be "Roland's project." Unless the alias somehow becomes official, some people might not know that the primary and secondary names refer to the same thing.

Metaphors

A metaphor is a figure of speech that references one concept, object, or action, by identifying it with another. In metaphors, that identification of one concept with another isn't literally accurate. For example, the statement, "My son's room is a war zone," identifies my son's room as a war zone, when it isn't literally a war zone. Metaphors make writing interesting, but they open new paths to confusion.

These three linguistic forms give us opportunities to insert variety into our conversations. From the perspective of interesting writing, that's a good thing. But if our goal is broad, mutual understanding of complex subjects, they introduce risk of confusion.

Last words

When we use alternative language in important conversations, we can't be sure that every participant understands both forms in exactly the same way. That can lead to groups believing they have decided something together when in fact they have not. If you notice two terms being used to denote the same thing, raise a question: "Can we use one of these two terms, and stop using the other?" If that question provokes a debate, then there is disagreement that transcends language. And that can lead to expensive mistakes, or worse.  Top    Next Issue

Do you spend your days scurrying from meeting to meeting? Do you ever wonder if all these meetings are really necessary? (They aren't) Or whether there isn't some better way to get this work done? (There is) Read 101 Tips for Effective Meetings to learn how to make meetings much more productive and less stressful — and a lot more rare. Order Now!

Your comments are welcome

About Point Lookout

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful, and that you'll consider recommending it to a friend.

This article in its entirety was written by a human being. No machine intelligence was involved in any way.

Point Lookout is a free weekly email newsletter. Browse the archive of past issues. Subscribe for free.

Support Point Lookout by joining the Friends of Point Lookout, as an individual or as an organization.

Do you face a complex interpersonal situation? Send it in, anonymously if you like, and I'll give you my two cents.

Related articles

More articles on Effective Meetings:

Irrational Self-Interest

When we try to influence others, especially large groups or entire companies, we sometimes create packages of incentives and disincentives that are intended to affect behavior. These strategies usually assume that people make choices on rational grounds. Is this assumption valid?

How to Eliminate Meetings

Reducing the length and frequency of meetings is the holy grail of organizational science. I've attended many meetings on this topic, most of which have come to naught. Here are some radical ideas that could change our lives.

Characterization Risk

To characterize is to offer a description of a person, event, or concept. Characterizations are usually judgmental, and usually serve one side of a debate. And they often make trouble.

Toward More Engaging Virtual Meetings: I

Keeping attendees engaged in virtual meetings is a widely sought but rarely achieved objective. Here is Part I of a set of simple techniques to help facilitators enhance attendee engagement.

Exploitation and Conversational Narcissism at Work: I

Exploitation of others is one of four themes of conversational narcissism. Knowing how to recognize the patterns of conversational narcissism is a fundamental skill needed for controlling it. Here are five examples that emphasize exploitation of others.

See also Effective Meetings and Effective Meetings for more related articles.

Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

Coming December 11: White Water Rafting as a Metaphor for Group Development

Tuckman's model of small group development, best known as "Forming-Storming-Norming-Performing," applies better to development of some groups than to others. We can use a metaphor to explore how the model applies to Storming in task-oriented work groups. Available here and by RSS on December 11.

And on December 18: Subgrouping and Conway's Law

When task-oriented work groups address complex tasks, they might form subgroups to address subtasks. The structure of the subgroups and the order in which they form depend on the structure of the group's task and the sequencing of the subtasks. Available here and by RSS on December 18.

Coaching services

I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrenyrWpTxHuyCrjZbUpner@ChacnoFNuSyWlVzCaGfooCanyon.com or (650) 787-6475, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.

Get the ebook!

Past issues of Point Lookout are available in six ebooks:

• Get 2001-2 in Geese Don't Land on Twigs (PDF, )
• Get 2003-4 in Why Dogs Wag (PDF, )
• Get 2005-6 in Loopy Things We Do (PDF, )
• Get 2007-8 in Things We Believe That Maybe Aren't So True (PDF, )
• Get 2009-10 in The Questions Not Asked (PDF, )
• Get all of the first twelve years (2001-2012) in The Collected Issues of Point Lookout (PDF, )

Are you a writer, editor or publisher on deadline? Are you looking for an article that will get people talking and get compliments flying your way? You can have 500-1000 words in your inbox in one hour. License any article from this Web site. More info