Which one do you prefer?
I lean toward passion, don't get me wrong I see a lot of beauty in precision and I understand that there are many skills, careers, and situations that require precision; like brain surgery, structural engineering, coding or parking the car in an overstuffed garage...
I find it more than frustrating though when someone misses the point of what I'm trying to communicate because of a focus on precision. I think most people can pick up on the gist of a conversation even if you mispronounce a word or even replace it with another, but I've known a few people who refuse to acknowledge the intent of a statement because it was said incorrectly. No substitutions allowed.
One of the many frustrating symptoms of fibromyalgia is a mild aphasia. This is when you can't think of a word, can't say a word, or say another word in it's place. It's a pretty common symptom and a very irritating one. It can cause some social anxiety and hesitation to speak or even write. Sometimes it makes us feel stupid or sluggish and can be really embarrassing.
To be true I grew up in a passionate household, we didn't focus on precision and I never found it to be essential in casual conversation. I should clarify that lack of precision doesn't mean lying. It's the little assumptions we make in conversation, like looking in a direction when speaking of something in that direction and assuming they will see that something, or assuming when your talking about something you don't have to clarify every time you add a point. Or maybe saying "they say" or "she said" instead of "the scientific journal on precision of language states"... I realize there can be miscommunications this way but found most of the time we were all able to reach the same conclusion. It's all about the context, strangely enough this practice also helped me develop trouble shooting skills, meaning; I was able to fill in blanks or make assumptions or figure out what someone is trying to communicate or do without knowing every detail.
I didn't even realize this was a skill until I met my ex-husband, who of course preferred precision. He would get really hung up on how I said things and even if I knew he understood he would refuse to admit understanding until I said it correctly or even his version of correctly. Some of us say up the street when we mean to travel forward, others mean it when it goes uphill, some even mean it to be north. Some of us say next week and mean the following week, where as this week is the coming week and not the week you are in. Confused yet? In context we can usually understand what a person is implying and if we don't we clarify. Do you mean Friday the 1st or Friday the 8th?
All of us exaggerate terms. We say always or never and mean a lot of the time or some of the time. We say can't and mean don't or won't or shouldn't. We say this while holding an object, that while pointing at an object, you get the picture, right?
When someone demands precision in your conversations and overrides the passion of a story you stop talking, you starting thinking about everything you say, you evaluate everything for the effort it will take to explain if it isn't understood correctly. I understand precision if you are asking for an outcome like a job. I do not understand precision in casual conversation, that removes any personality from it -the story or conversation, but you knew that didn't you, it was implied, and you liked it better that way didn't you... Ok ok.
I didn't realize how negatively this kind of behavior was affecting me until I didn't have to always clarify everything I said, I'm not even sure he actually preferred precision or was just trying to derail the conversation or get me to stop talking. Either way it was extremely draining and demeaning and I realized at some point I began to just stay silent and chose not to talk rather than risk having to explain better. It was already frustrating enough for me to realize I was finding it hard to say words. Luckily most people I meet are more than willing to overlook a misplaced word and even say it for me or they allow the story to explain It for them without interrupting my story or thought in order to clarify every possible meaning or subtext.
So I guess the point of this strange little rant is, if you know someone with Fibromyalgia maybe give them just a little room for error when communicating. We don't mind if you help us with a word although, I have found that sometimes when someone says a word that isn't right and I almost have the word I completely lose it. If all you are hoping to do is get me to stop talking about a subject I will tell you, this is not the easiest way, when we lose our train of thought we are conditioned to try and remember, which can take ages to complete that thought and ultimately just prolongs the conversation. Just say so or give me the wrap it up gesture, I'm cool with that. I've been there, I get it.