Manfred Davidmann

Manfred Davidmann is an internationally well-known and respected scientist and consultant, and author of a number of books and reports which have had and are having considerable impact. His work usually breaks new ground and opens up new understanding and is written in meaningful and easily understood language. Outstanding is that his work is generally accepted as factual, objective and unbiased.

More than 6 million copies of his reports have been downloaded from the Solhaam website so far and have changed the way in which people live, think and behave.

The Fifteen Most Popular Downloads

• Style of Management and Leadership

• Family, Sex and the Individual; Women's Liberation, Feminism and Community

• How the Human Brain Developed and the Human Mind Works

• ORIGIN OF CHRISTIANITY and JUDAISM

• MOTIVATION: Summary

• Meaning and Significance of the Names of God in Genesis

• Co-operatives and Co-operation: Causes of Failure, Guidelines for Success

• The Will to Work: What People Struggle to Achieve

• Directing and Managing Change

• Using Words to Communicate Effectively

• Inflation, Balance of Payments and Currency Exchange Rates
  Including: How Base (General) Interest Rates determine Share Prices and Pensions

• Organising

• Multinational Operations: Transfer Pricing and Taxation

• The Meaning of Genesis: Creation, Evolution and the Origin of Evil

• COMMUNITY ECONOMICS: Ownership and Limited Liability

Books by Manfred Davidmann

• ISLAM: Basis - Past - Present - Future
  
  
• God and People: The Social Laws and Social System
  Underlying Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Democracy
  
  
• THE HUMAN MIND AND HOW IT WORKS:
  Group Minds in Action: How the Human Group Mind
  Shapes the Quality of Our Life and Living
  
  
• COOPERATIVES AND COOPERATION:
  Causes of Failure, Guidelines for Success
  
  
• Management and Leadership:
  Local, National, Multinational (Global),
  Principles and Practice
  
  
• The Real World in Which We Live:
  The Social Rules and Social System under Which We Suffer, Struggle, Survive and Prosper
  
  
• Messianic Struggle: The Worldwide Struggle for a Good and Secure Life for All, Here and Now
  
  
• Judaism: Basis - Past - Present - Future, Part 1
  
  
• Judaism: Basis - Past - Present - Future, Part 2
  
  

You can support and help us to provide and keep this exceptional website free of charge by buying Manfred Davidmann's books.

Theme of the Week (Current Events, Current Problems)

• Themes     (listed by content)
  
  
• 
  Previous themes:
  
  
• 'The choice is yours:
  Unemployment, Charitable Social Security and Today's Religious Teachings or
  High Standard of Living, Satisfying Work and a Good Life, as God-given rights.'
  
  
• 'Creationism and Intelligent Design, Evolution, Education or Indoctrination. And
  Reading, Interpreting, Translating of Ancient Consonantal Texts like the Bible or the Koran.'
  
  
• 'Transfer Pricing by Multinational (Global) Enterprises'
  
  
• 'Family's Role in the Real World:
  Teamwork in an Age of Specialisation and Accelerating Change and
  Gaining Strength in the Struggle for a Better Life'
  
  

Theme:

'Using Words Effectively'

It is important that the other persons understand what we want them to understand, that they understand the intended meaning.

Hence for effective communication the sender must use words which have the same meaning for sender and receiver.

Most common cause of misunderstanding arises from assuming that the word (a label) is the object. Two people can then be arguing about something, referring to it by using the same word, arguing because this word means something different to each of them.

So to be meaningful, words must establish the same thought in both the sender and receiver of a communication.

Words vary considerably as regards their value for communication. They differ in their level of abstraction. The greater the level of abstraction, the less meaning do they have.

Levels of Abstraction

1. Objects

   Objects represent a relatively low level of abstraction as they can be seen and touched and their characteristics detailed accurately.

   Here words are labels for objects such as table or chair.

   
   

2. Events

   In addition to objects, both action and time are implied, and so these are more complex.

   Examples are: Accident, sale, party.

   
   

3. Generalisations

   Words are also used as labels for groups and collections of objects or events. These generalisations are more abstract and less precise.

   Examples of such labels are: Furniture, machine tools, employees, parents.

   Employees, for example, can be full-time, part-time, shift working, office working, home working, male, female, young, old, single, married, unskilled, skilled, professional, and more.

   
   

4. Value Judgements or Ideology

   Value judgements and ideology are at the highest level of abstraction and words used as labels for them are quite useless for effective communication until the meaning of the word used is clearly defined in detail.

   Examples of such labels are: Beautiful, valuable, necessary, luxury, lazy, free enterprise, truth.

   Such words can be strung together and mixed with generalisations to provide good-sounding speeches and statements of the kind politicians like to use, to provide speeches and statements with no real meaning attached to the words used. Listeners or readers use their own idea of what the words mean and so their understanding of what is being said differs widely from person to person.

I listed the word 'truth' as an example of a label for a meaningless abstraction. Surely 'truth' ought to be more than a meaningless value judgement, so let us look at this in more detail.

Consider two media reports of a current event. Each reports the same event, each apparently telling the truth, each report giving its viewers different impressions of what actually happened.

How come? Can there be more than one truth?

Such reports may tell only part of what happened, may report only what seems relevant to the reporter, may then be selecting what seems to support the particular viewpoint of those who prepared the report.

Compare these 'truths' with that demanded from a witness in a court of law: 'The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.'

Which means that what is required in a court of law is the truth with nothing taken away and nothing added.

If we agree on this as a definition, then the word 'truth' has become more meaningful.

See the report

Using Words to Communicate Effectively

by Manfred Davidmann

Short Descriptions

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