Use an example from everyday life: Describe a vague sentence or ambiguous sentence you have heard recently. Where did you hear this sentence? An advertisement? Was it a conversation with a friend? What qualified the sentence as vague or ambiguous?
I dont like to sit and ponder about what someone meant to say when they say something to me and it wasn't a direct statement. I'm very straight forward for the most part, or at least i try to be because I know how much it bothers me. For example, one say, "can you hand me that" while theres clearly a million things in front of you that they might be referring to; thats vague. I hear this a lot at work, I work for sprint. All day long I have customers come in and say " I want to buy that new phone that recently came out," well good for you lady, you came to the right place, but how am I suppose to know which one your referring to we sell lots of phones! ugh. My mom does that too, everyday before I leave the house, she'll tell me "mija I left you some food in the fridge" yea well thanks mom, the fridge is filled with food -____- A vague statement is a statement that has no clear guidance towards the purpose for which it was said. Wouldn't it just be easier to say, "i packed you some apples in the purple container on the top shelve in the fridge?" It's sometimes annoying, I'm not a psychic ya`know.
I really like the example you chose, especially becasue I can absolutely relate to it. I identify with this because my mom does the same thing to me. The vague requests and things she says are so unclear that I end up frustrated and getting trouble over it because I ask her what she's talking about. Moms are so funny in how they do the same things even in different households.
ReplyDeleteYour customer's vague sentence definitely caught my interest. I can understand that it is hard to help customers if they do not let you know what kind of phone they are interested in! I can remember some of the vague things I have said when I wanted to buy something. Also, your mom's example is a perfect one. I have the same problem when my parents ask me to do a chore and then complain that I didn't do the laundry. I mistakenly misunderstood chore as in the dishes.
ReplyDeleteIt is common for people to assume that others will understand them when they are too vague without knowing they were. Overall, great post, Moe.
Your post was rather funny, although I do know how vague sentences can be frustrating at times. My brother is the king of vague sentences and it’s common for him to use a statement like, “Can you hand me that over there?” I have the same reaction as you do and because I don’t know what he’s talking about, my brother becomes increasingly frustrated because I didn’t pick out the right thing to give to him. I do think that when people use vague sentences, like your mom did when she told you that she left food for you or when my brother asks if I can hand him something, they sometimes assume that we automatically know what they are talking about so that don’t think anything of it to be more specific.
ReplyDeleteHeyy!!! I can definitely agree with you on the cellphone part of your post. I use to work at the Verizon store in the Great Mall and I would also get a lot of vague questions about phones. I would get a lot of questions about the Droid phones. Customers would come into the store asking to buy the Droid. I would then reply which one saying there are multiple different types such as the regular Droid, the Droid Incredible, and the Droid X. After I would show the customer these phones they would always ask me questions such as "which one is the best." Another vague question from them because they aren't telling me what they're looking for in a phone. Each phone comes with different quality. The Droid X can be the best to some people because it has a big screen while the Droid can be the best to other people because of the slide up qwerty keyboard.
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point. We live in a vague society. We all know what the person is talking about, but then again when does something get too specific. I know it's crazy, but look at it this way, you don't want to look like you're acting smart when someone asks you to bring them a jacket when you know exactly what they're talking about and responding by saying, "What jacket?" It's just a thought and definitely not arguing against you. It's funny and kind of an oxymoron how in some situations, being vague is descriptive enough for them to understand what is being talked about.
ReplyDeleteWe live in a very fast-paced society. Just like when we text, we tend to take short cuts in speaking. Being vague is not the intention of most people, although I know what you mean about your mom.
ReplyDeleteI used to work in a pharmacy. Many of the elderly patients would come in and ask for their white, red, or blue pill. I would be like what?? How was I supposed to know which medication that was. They would also ask for their blood pressure, heart, or pain medication. Although I had access to their medication profile, I didn't know which medications pertained to what disease. This was probably not about being vague, but a sign of dementia (memory loss).
We live in a very fast-paced society. Just like when we text, we tend to take short cuts in speaking. Being vague is not the intention of most people, although I know what you mean about your mom.
ReplyDeleteI used to work in a pharmacy. Many of the elderly patients would come in and ask for their white, red, or blue pill. I would be like what?? How am I supposed to know which one that was. They would also ask for their blood pressure, heart, or pain medication. Although I had access to their medication profile, I didn't know which medications pertained to what disease.
I think this may have been a sign of dementia (memory loss) versus vagueness:(