ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Coordinated management of meaning

Coordinated management of meaning is when we talk with other people and understand what they mean by the words they say in a way that we both understand. Imagine you and your friend are playing together, and you say, "I'm going to get the ball." Your friend needs to know what you mean by "get" and "ball" so he knows what to do next.

Sometimes we can misunderstand what someone means because we have different ideas about what certain words mean. It's important to ask questions to make sure you both understand each other. This is where coordinated management of meaning comes in. We use words and phrases in a way that makes sense to the people we are talking to so they can understand us.

For example, if you are talking to your parents about going to bed, it is important to understand what they mean when they say "bedtime." They might mean that it's time to go to sleep or just time to get ready for bed. If they don't explain what they mean, you might not understand and might end up staying up too late.

Coordinated management of meaning helps us communicate better by making sure everyone understands what we are talking about. It's like teamwork, where we all work together to understand each other and make sure we're on the same page.