I love ambiguity. Or do I?
Ah,
see, what fun it is. Actually, I do love it in a communications sense,
because I like to find out what’s gone wrong and put it right.
Take
this sign for instance, which I recently spotted in a toilet at a
company. The different ways you can read that are glorious, does it mean
- Do not bring water in here and drink it, ok?
- In case you were unsure, the water in the toilet bowl is not for drinking
- You can’t drink the water from the taps in this toilet
Now,
I’m guessing it’s the last one (although the first one might apply to
some places I’ve worked) but that’s the beauty of the sign, you can
choose to read it wrongly because it gives you the option. It’s not
specific enough. Toilets mean the physical implements as well as the
room where those things are housed. Water is in the taps as well as in
the toilets (physical implements).
One
of my other favourites is ‘fine-tooth comb’. A simple enough phrase,
but the amount of times that people have called it a fine tooth-comb is
remarkable. And the difference is wonderful – one being a grooming
device featuring narrow gaps between the prongs or teeth, the other is a
really impressive tool for ensuring teeth are – erm - combed
Of course, this is a relatively frivolous example, but removing ambiguity is something that you strive for in communications. Get it wrong when it’s about something really important, such as somone’s pay, job prospects, gender (how many Sam’s have you dealt with on email and have NO idea if they are male or female?) and it can be a real problem.
So let’s try it across everything, no matter how frivolous or petty that might seem, because one day it will really matter.
