The Abstraction Ladder
Communicating with clarity
If you find yourself consistently frustrated by someone’s communication style, wondering, “What are they really trying to say?”, use the Abstraction Ladder.
The Abstraction Ladder, developed by linguist S.I. Hayakawa, illustrates how humans think and communicate using varying levels of abstraction. Imagine it like a ladder where concepts ascend from the specific and concrete at the bottom to the general and abstract at the top.
Consider the example of Bessie the cow:
The cow named Bessie (specific and concrete, bottom of the ladder)
Cows
Livestock
Farm assets
Assets
Wealth (general and abstract, top of the ladder)
Examples of the abstraction ladder are all around us, in our thoughts, and in our words.
Most concrete → In the middle → Most abstract
Mr. Khan, the teacher → High school → Education
Harry Potter → Fantasy genre → Literature
Nadal → Tennis Player → Athlete
You → Citizen of your country → Society
Clear thinking and communication require navigating between these levels. The problem occurs when someone is stuck at either extreme, leading to what’s known as “Dead level abstracting”.
Stuck at the bottom (Only concrete):
A data analyst buries themselves in reports, neglecting to highlight any actionable insights.
Cafeteria chatter - He said, She said, and I said, and then he said…loop it till the lunch break ends.
Stuck at the top (Only abstract):
“We will make America great again!”
“We need to leverage synergies and innovate.”
The low-level speaker frustrates you because he leaves you with no directions as to what to do with the basketful of information he has given you, nor does he explain why it is important.
The high-level speaker frustrates you because he simply doesn’t tell you what he is talking about, frequently chasing around in verbal circles, unaware that they are making meaningless noises. A common prescription used in the business context is to begin a meeting with, “Let’s define our terms so that we are all on the same page.” So, instead of giving specific examples to add clarity, we end up in a tangled situation while trying to define the defining words.
Audiences need both concrete details and abstract principles and lessons.
All said and done, all of this become mere intellectual play in the absence of practical experience. One cannot fully grasp “apple pie” without tasting it. Definitions of concepts like "honesty" or "justice" remain hollow if we have never felt strongly about it.
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What’s your bias? Everybody has one. My bias is to think, write, and speak towards the bottom of the ladder. I consciously work to climb up the ladder by asking “Why?” questions. You can move down the ladder by asking "How?" questions. More on this in the next post.