“In this group, conversation has a capital C.”
Glenn Trembath, a learner, made this comment in our Knowledge Game workshop yesterday. He was recognising the importance a group’s language can play in conversation.
Glenn was participating in a group where several of the members already knew each other and had a common understanding around the word conversation. Within the group conversation is seen as the means by which we interact with the world in order to have something happen. That is a definition more meaningful than ‘chat’.
However, to an outsider that wasn’t apparent. Only that a shared understanding was present. Communities of Practice are likely to intuitively create such language. There is a power in the shorthand that it creates yet CoPs must also be careful their language does not alienate others wishing to contribute. Sometimes words are spoken with a capital C and we must take care to recognise when and explain why if necessary.