this is a speech done for 9th grade students, informing them on the topic of misinterpretation

1. Name: Ryon Whyte
Courses: Applying contract law and ethical practices
Lecturer: Mrs Sammon-Williams
Assignment: Write a speech for a group of grade 9 students explaining to them the
 Definition of misinterpretation.
 Types and examples of misinterpretation.
 How to avoid misinterpretation.
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Good afternoon grade nine. My name is Ryon Whyte and I am her to speak to you on the
topic of misinterpretation. When you hear the prefix “mis” you begin to think of something bad,
a mistake, or something wrong. Well, in fact it is something wrong. According to
Vocabulary.com Interpretation comes from the Latin interpretari, which means "explain" or
"translate." Adding the prefix “mis” which in this case means "wrongly" changes the word's
meaning to wrong interpretation. In most cases misinterpretation is accidental, but it can also be
intentional, this is called “willful” misinterpretation. Putting it simple misunderstanding someone
else's words on purpose this is most times done to make an unrelated point.
I will now give you a few examples of misinterpretations. These are some of the famous
ones. Back in the 1950s, chocolate companies began encouraging couples in Japan to start
celebrating Valentine’s Day, but a misinterpretation from one company made it seem like the
idea was for women to give chocolates to men. This practice is continued to this day, with men
doing the same for their partners on March 14 every year. If the communication is verbal, tone of
voice can influence interpretation. For example your boss says "hey, I noticed you were taking
an especially long break this morning," this could be interpreted as an attack if he said that in a
disapproving tone. The comment might have even been a friendly inquiry about what has

2. happening and whether the employee needed any help. Here, tone of voice as well as situational
and relationship factors would influence the interpretation of the message. You also have non-
verbal misinterpretation, here is an example: You are a doctor specially assigned to a patient
talking to a patient and he yawns. What goes through your mind? Do you think he
is bored? Did he not sleep well last night? Did he eat too much at lunchtime? Maybe your
interpretation depends to some extent on your mood.
Given our tendency to hear what we expect to hear and see what we expect to see, it is
very easy for people in conflict to misunderstand each other. Communication is already likely to
be strained, and people will, most likely, want to hide the truth to some extent. Thus the potential
for misperceptions and misunderstandings is high, which can make conflict management or
resolution more difficult. Now how do we avoid misinterpretation? I am going to outline 4 steps
to avoid misinterpretation. Firstly, clarify; this is checking that the correct message was received.
So you try to solicit feedback. Secondly, never assume! If what the other person says or does is
unclear. It is best to ask questions. Thirdly, stick to the most important information; this will
eliminate the need to further explain what was said, also avoid making any unnecessary gestures,
or the wrong message might be sent. Lastly, relate information instead of giving orders. So it is
best to talk with someone than talking to them. When you create that kind of environment, all
party becomes comfortable and so stick to the critical.
With that point made I will now terminate my speech. It was a real pleasure speaking to
you. I hope you will now exercise my advices on communication in order to create a problem
free communication environment. Thank you.