Ambiguous speech / reading between the lines

[meheez]

Hey, very often do i meet people that speak ambiguously and /or expect to be read between the lines.

I wonder why?

Do you often meet such people? What is your experience with this?

This happens very often in business and job sectors ive noticed.

Thank you.

[Shadowferal]

Hey, very often do i meet people that speak ambiguously and /or expect to be read between the lines.
I wonder why?
Do you often meet such people? What is your experience with this?
This happens very often in business and job sectors ive noticed.
Thank you.

Yeah, when I send company emails I tend to be blunt...no ambiguity unless I'm being amusing and I know the other party will understand.
For the most part, I refuse to play games. They leave too much room for errors and miscommunication/misunderstanding...
I recall the general manager walking back to where I am and yelling That wasn't nice! FUNNY, but not nice!

[Powerogue]

There's no purpose in that unless you're deliberately wanting to be misunderstood, and I don't roll like that. Most of my life has been learning to decode things like that.

[Zaktar]

In business I'd guess that it's done to aid in blame dodging, and/or to hide that the speaker has no clue what they're doing.

[Doctor Amadeus]

Yeah, I can tell you from personal experience, this, and the facial reading nonsense is exactly that, none sense. There IS a SCIENCE to it, or just about any and every point of data and information that can be assigned by recognizing certain patterns.

However unless you literally are a machine and are calculating variables, and degrees instantly, it's almost impossible to be 100% or even close to that accurate.

Whether it's physiology, micro expressions, or of course even a Stress Test, it all leads to the same thing.

NOW that doesn't mean it's complete bunk at all, but anybody telling you they can read between the lines, or observe someones face for "Proof" someone is lying or telling the truth is full of shit.

I know this because I have used it, and I have studied watching people for nearly 2 decades and the best experts in the world, alone will readily admit to being WRONG more than half the time alone without any other tools.

Which is better than flipping a coin, but yeah, it's bullshit.

I would say it's a fare bit more accurate if someone is being evaluated, recorded, and then that information and the points are being cross referenced between different data sets.

But again that shit has backfired and has in the past been totally fucking wrong.


Because even in controlled settings the best you are going to get is 98 to 99% and that is just to determine someone is being deceptive. The problem is there are so many variables that aren't accounted for.

Most shit people think of when doing the above like say, hearing about or reading someone can determine shit by someones handwriting such as personality traits, that shit is mostly theater.

Reading between the lines is valuable if you know what to look for, however it's not better than reading tea leaves unless it's in context.

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In business I'd guess that it's done to aid in blame dodging, and/or to hide that the speaker has no clue what they're doing.

Hahaha nah, most motivational speakers talk out of the their ass, and have virtually almost no idea what the fuck they are talking about, and if you ask most successful people interdependently who have objectivity and experience, most can figure it out pretty quickly.

HOWEVER, being able to bullshit people, is a very, very valuable skill. Compare it to playing poker.

If you go into a situation with the understanding EVERYBODY is full of shit.

For instance if you work in business nobody is going to get your "Attention", get your "Interest" easily, push you to "Desire" to "Act" on shit you don't want. Especially if you are immune to having anyone manipulate you.

However a nice suit, fake, watch, and telling me I am good looking, and you can make me rich, while you're driving a rented super car, and have no credentials for success other than you convince people you are successful and can make them a success, isn't going to do it. LOL

[Forgettable]

People like that are one of the following:

Drama Queen
Manipulative Asshole
Douche Canoe

[Boricha]

You don't need to be ambiguous to be misunderstood. People misinterpret things all the time, whether accidental or intentional, and it can be hard for the speaker to realize it.

[Mormolyce]

Deliberate weaseling - they speak vaguely so they can appear to say certain things, but hide behind ambiguity if called on any of it. Plausible deniability. It's a way of getting something from people while avoiding accountability.

[meheez]

hide behind ambiguity

I agree, also i think its used to provocate people and check their thinking. Aka are you gonna react one way or another. Its usefull if you wanna test what kind of mentality someone has. Psychiatrists use this strategy.

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Douche Canoe

Also true, ive met people who seem to use it for no other reason. Or they wanna copy someone else who do this on purpose. But its funny, because it has no meaning coming out of their mouths.

[Uutuus]

I find ambiguous communication is most common with women. I've worked with women for five years now.

[Coffer]

It's because people being able to do that sort of reading between the lines is expected, as having that skill is the norm, particularly online and in the professional world. Even if you don't perfectly nail the meaning behind a line, an expression etc, you should be able to get 90% of it 90% of the time at least. It's not a particularly hard skill to practice getting better at either.

[P for Pancetta]

Yeah, I can tell you from personal experience, this, and the facial reading nonsense is exactly that, none sense. There IS a SCIENCE to it, or just about any and every point of data and information that can be assigned by recognizing certain patterns.

However unless you literally are a machine and are calculating variables, and degrees instantly, it's almost impossible to be 100% or even close to that accurate.

Whether it's physiology, micro expressions, or of course even a Stress Test, it all leads to the same thing.

NOW that doesn't mean it's complete bunk at all, but anybody telling you they can read between the lines, or observe someones face for "Proof" someone is lying or telling the truth is full of shit.

I know this because I have used it, and I have studied watching people for nearly 2 decades and the best experts in the world, alone will readily admit to being WRONG more than half the time alone without any other tools.

Which is better than flipping a coin, but yeah, it's bullshit.

I would say it's a fare bit more accurate if someone is being evaluated, recorded, and then that information and the points are being cross referenced between different data sets.

But again that shit has backfired and has in the past been totally fucking wrong.


Because even in controlled settings the best you are going to get is 98 to 99% and that is just to determine someone is being deceptive. The problem is there are so many variables that aren't accounted for.

Most shit people think of when doing the above like say, hearing about or reading someone can determine shit by someones handwriting such as personality traits, that shit is mostly theater.

Reading between the lines is valuable if you know what to look for, however it's not better than reading tea leaves unless it's in context.

- - - Updated - - -



Hahaha nah, most motivational speakers talk out of the their ass, and have virtually almost no idea what the fuck they are talking about, and if you ask most successful people interdependently who have objectivity and experience, most can figure it out pretty quickly.

HOWEVER, being able to bullshit people, is a very, very valuable skill. Compare it to playing poker.

If you go into a situation with the understanding EVERYBODY is full of shit.

For instance if you work in business nobody is going to get your "Attention", get your "Interest" easily, push you to "Desire" to "Act" on shit you don't want. Especially if you are immune to having anyone manipulate you.

However a nice suit, fake, watch, and telling me I am good looking, and you can make me rich, while you're driving a rented super car, and have no credentials for success other than you convince people you are successful and can make them a success, isn't going to do it. LOL

You can hear between the lines, there was this study that showed it was much harder to sell a lie through the phone then in person.

[Mormolyce]

I agree, also i think its used to provocate people and check their thinking. Aka are you gonna react one way or another. Its usefull if you wanna test what kind of mentality someone has. Psychiatrists use this strategy.

Mmmm, typically if you're being provocative then you're actually doing the opposite, ie challenging the audience's preconceptions through bold statements and questions.