“Why would you say such a thing,” is a common retort to someone who has said something that was unexpected during a conversation. Attempts to better understand why people make certain utterances as well as seeking how best to respond to them is to investigate the Pragmatic concept of “hidden cotext.” Hidden cotext is a novel concept in the linguistic area of Pragmatics that seeks to explain how personal experiences, beliefs, conversational motivations, and interpretations of previous utterances may influence communication. While the context of the conversation (the location and the timing of the interaction, as well as the relationship between the speakers) is obvious to all participants and allows for preparation, hidden cotext is less discernable, more spontaneous, and likely to be more challenging to the communicative process. By exploring the effects of hidden cotext as well as related strategies, people will likely improve their communication abilities.