How to say what you really mean

Precise language must be used intentionally if you are to communicate clearly. As an example, a very nice lady stopped by my booth at a show and she was admiring one of my fancy inlaid Christmas Ornaments which I had completed as a display model. She inquired if it was for sale and whether it was expensive. The correct answer was yes and no. Compared to a new car, that particular ornament was a real bargain. Compared to the average Hobby Lobby Chinese glass mass produced ornament, it might seem a bit pricy to some. Compared to objects d’art one would find in an art gallery, it was priced about right.

Many terms need to be understood in context such as large or small, expensive or a bargain, good or bad, high quality or cheaply made. Something one inch square would be quite small if it represented all of the food you had to eat for an entire day. It could be quite large if it were a hole in your chest! Whenever someone asks me if something is expensive I never answer those types of questions with a straight yes or no. Something which I think is inexpensive might be way more than they had in mind. A question I hear very often is “is it difficulty to do?” Well, at this stage in my woodturning career, there isn’t much left which is difficult any more. There are things which are tedious and may be unpleasant, but not really difficult. So it really depends on the context.

My encouragement this week is to use language which suits the context. If you are instructing a student new to turning, you might say “you will find this fairly easy, after you’ve had a little practice and gotten the hang of it.” Folks ask me about turning various sized bowls all the time. When I ask what sized bowls they wish to make, I usually get some version ranging from just little ones to about average sized. When we begin to talk in inches, some folks think a 14” salad bowl is about average while others think 5–6 inches is about average sized.