Words.

When I was strolling through my campus I caught a small exchange of conversation between two international students.
"I'm sorry"
"Don't contempt yourself"
"Okay"
They were both speaking at the same level of intensity - casual. The use of words far out weighed the lightness of intention.

When I continued strolling and the two students were left behind in their banter I began to ponder the meaning of words and their place. To me, they are just tools, and on their own they aren't very useful, they need our intention to put them to use.

Vocalising your intention through tones, with words being the vehicle, is easy to understand. However, when these same words are left silent on a page, the intention is lost from the writer (usually) and it is up to the reader's discretion to decide their value and how it will affect them. It can create misinterpretation for better or worse.