If someone shouts “Time!” during a baseball game, usually it’s a call for suspension of play. That is, “Time-out.”

If someone shouts “Time!” during a soccer match, it’s usually a shorthand message to the player controlling the ball: “Don’t rush. You have time before any defenders become a significant threat.”

Same words, different games, different meanings.

In life, the signs and signals we send and receive … they’re not universal.

When we send a message (or try to decode what’s being conveyed to us) we need to know what game is being played.