Have you ever sat through a meeting where everyone nodded enthusiastically and nobody asked any questions – only to realize later that half the room didn’t know (or couldn’t agree) what had just happened?

Welcome to ambiguity

Organizations are full of it. We need greater accountability. Better communication. Stronger collaboration. Increased agility. Strategic alignment. Let’s circle back and synergize!

Wonderful. But, what exactly do any of those business buzzwords mean? The problems start when vague ideas are presented as if they have a single, universally accepted definition.

Everyone agrees accountability is important. Not everyone agrees what it means. Ask 10 people what “accountability” looks like and you’ll get 11 different answers. Are we talking about a reassuring phone manner, the ability to explain complex ideas simply, or somebody who can talk to freakin’ animals?

Organizations do this all the time. Leaders leave meetings convinced they have communicated clearly because they have spoken clearly. Unfortunately, those are not the same thing.

Successful communication is not measured by what is said; it is measured by what people understand.

Two types of language: literal vs. abstract

Much of this comes down to the type of language we choose to use. At one end sits literal, or “concrete”, language. It’s specific, observable, and difficult to misinterpret.

“Call the client back before the end of the day.”

“Update the project board every Friday.”

At the other end sits figurative, or “abstract”, language. It deals in ideas and concepts.

“Demonstrate responsiveness to member needs.”

“Maintain visibility and accountability across project activity.”

Notice how the abstract versions sound more strategic, more professional, and arguably more impressive. They’re also harder to act on. These statements aren’t necessarily wrong and may describe exactly what an organization wants to achieve, but they leave room for interpretation, and different people will attach different meanings to the same words.

Neither form of language is inherently better than the other. Concrete language helps us discuss behavior, expectations, and action. Abstract language helps us discuss purpose and possibility – but it also has a greater risk of becoming ambiguous.

Ambiguity and business buzzwords

Ambiguous means capable of more than one meaning, and that’s exactly what happens when expectations aren’t defined. Different people reach different conclusions, behave accordingly, and organizations end up with inconsistency where they expected alignment.

We don’t make decisions. We align strategic priorities.

We don’t explain uncertainty. We talk about visibility.

The words sound impressive, but they’re open to interpretation. Literal language narrows interpretation whereas jargon expands it. Think of the meeting where someone interrupts to ask for clarification, and half the room visibly sighs with relief. Now think of how many meetings you’ve been in where nobody asked the question everyone was waiting for.

People often mistake silence for understanding. The two are not the same thing.

The importance of shared understanding

Human beings are remarkably good at pretending to understand. We don’t want to seem uninformed or inexperienced. So we nod and smile. We make notes, telling ourselves we’ll figure it out later. Sometimes we do. Sometimes nobody does.

This isn’t just a linguistic curiosity. Ambiguity has a habit of creating problems long before anyone realizes they’re having one.

Prior to the Challenger space shuttle disaster, engineers had raised concerns about technical risks, but as information moved through layers of management, different groups were left with different understandings of those risks – and a tragedy unfolded on live TV. Had each group simply repeated “the O-rings will fail, people will die” it could have been a very different story.

The lesson isn’t about rockets. It’s that important decisions become difficult when people leave the same conversation with different interpretations of what they heard. Sometimes the most valuable person in the room isn’t the expert. It’s the person willing to ask: “Sorry, what does that actually mean?”

Jargon isn’t the only culprit. Metaphor, and hyperbole can create similar problems.

This doesn’t mean everything needs to be reduced to dry instructions and hard facts. A good analogy can be one of the best communication tools we have, but the goal when communicating shouldn’t be to sound clever. The goal should be shared understanding.

Say what you mean

So, the next time you find yourself talking about communication, transformation, agility, or any other wonderfully abstract concept, ask yourself if you could be clearer.

For example:

“Let’s put a pin in it.”

Do you mean:

“No.”

“We’ll discuss it later.”

Or:

“I’ve already made my decision but I’d rather avoid the emotional admin that comes with saying it out loud.”

Clarity isn’t rude, it’s respectful. It respects people’s time and it gives them a fair chance of understanding what is expected of them. So say what you mean.

Because people cannot understand what has not been defined. And people cannot act on what they do not understand.

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