Listen to me! Whether we are caught in an argument or it’s the frustrated cry of a child, we’ve all made that urgent call for attention. The drive to communicate crosses species; according to botanists, it features in plant life too. Trees reach out to one another. On the human side, countless words are spoken, roared or whispered into the air, but how can we know if we are truly being heard, never mind understood? It is hard enough when we are speaking the same language. Who hasn’t had the feeling that if only we could find the right words,...