Definition
Semiotics asks what a sign does to an audience — not what the speaker meant, but what gets received and repeated.
Origin
Saussure (signifier / signified) and Peirce (icon, index, symbol). Applied in marketing, ritual studies, and brand work.
Mechanism
Three operational moves:
- Encode — choose symbols that match the promise (slide, phrase, uniform).
- Transfer — audience re-encodes your certainty (Transfer of Certainty).
- Audit — ask what was received, not what was intended.
Applications
Use when an offer and signals disagree (website vs call vs body language) — common in marketing and leadership communication analysis.
Sources
Cite
- Saussure, F. de (1916). Cours de linguistique générale. Payot.
- Peirce, C. S. (1931–1958). Collected papers of Charles Sanders Peirce. Harvard University Press.