Very good, Don. The difference between written and face-to-face communication is often demonstrated in the sentence:

"I didn't tell John you were stupid."

When we say the sentence with emphasis on each word, we get seven completely different messages.

1. Emphasizing "I" implies that someone else did.
2. Emphasis on "Didn't" is an emphatic denial.
3. Emphasis on "tell" could mean someone implied...
4. Emphasis on "John" implies someone told someone else...
5. Emphasis on "you" implies someone is implying that someone else is stupid.
6. Emphasis on "were" implies someone is saying someone IS stupid.
7. Emphasis on "Stupid" implies someone is saying someone else is ugly...fat...mean, etc.

This is a good way to emphasize the nuances of the communication process.


Russ