This miscommunication might have been avoided if ________.
A) you had been more specific about the type of help you wanted from your classmate
B) your classmate had angrily deleted your email instead of replying to you
C) you had used the same wording, but sent your request as a letter instead of an email
D) you had been more vague in your message about what you wanted
E) your classmate went directly to your professor with his suspicions

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A) The meaning that a receiver attaches to a message is filtered by his knowledge, experience, and context. Since he interpreted "help" to mean "cheat," he may have had a bad experience in the past involving cheating. Avoiding ambiguity and specifying the help you wanted might have helped him understand that cheating is not what you intended.

This Miscommunication Might Have Been Avoided If ________