Think about this for a moment, “I will call you later.” What does that actually mean?
Well, to me, and for some others, “later” means a few hours, but certainly the same day. To the friend who consistently ends her telephone conversation with me, “later” means “sometime in the future.”
Think about this for a moment, “I will call you later.” What actually does that mean? Well, to me, and for some others, “later” means a few hours, but certainly the same day. To the friend who consistently ends her telephone conversation with me, “later” means “sometime in the future.” Language and their definitions of what something "really" means is certainly different based on culture, upbringing, area of the country. This has brought me to thinking about how clients express themselves. The Mediator should not assume the client's meaning of the word but rather get it defined by the client.
Watch for our next post about "how people tell their stories".
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