Sam Walton, founder of Walmart, declared, “Clear communication is necessary to management success.” The paradigmatic virtues of clarity and completeness have long guided how we define successful business communication. This traditional insistence on precision and transparency is pervasive, guiding our endeavors to craft effective messages.
However, as we peel back the layers of this deeply entrenched notion, it becomes apparent that both our personal and professional endeavors often benefit from a more nuanced approach. Ambiguity, often stigmatized as a hallmark of miscommunication and inefficiency, can actually serve as a strategic tool. Below, we unpack the value of strategic ambiguity and explore when and how it can be deployed effectively.
The Value of Clarity and Completeness
At the heart of business communication lie the principles of clarity and completeness—a commitment to the accurate and clear transmission of all relevant information. These are encapsulated in and taught through common tools like the MECE (mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive) principle or the Minto pyramid method, which breaks a central message into a clear and complete hierarchy of reasons and assumptions. The aim of such tools is to provide clarity through logically structuring all relevant ideas and information.
In many instances this approach to communication is indeed desirable. Imagine a corporate memo detailing a change in organizational structure. An ambiguous or incomplete message could lead to confusion, unchecked speculation, suspicion or misaligned efforts and would certainly reduce operational effectiveness. Or, envision a one-on-one circumstance such as performance review where important future changes are needed. If the requested change is unclear or the goal amorphous, desired actions and ultimately retention might be in jeopardy. In these cases, clarity and completeness of what needs changing and why would be essential to effective implementation.
The Utility of Ambiguity
Striving for clarity and completeness is not always appropriate, however. For example, it might inadvertently signal finality and inflexibility when the situation calls for exploration. Or it might lead to bluntness and offense in dealing with sensitive subjects. Purposeful ambiguity can serve as a useful tool in many sticky communication situations.
What, then, is the difference between productive and unproductive ambiguity? When and how should deliberate ambiguity be deployed to obtain the best communication outcomes?
Probing and Exploring
Ambiguity can be used to encourage engagement, dialogue, and collaboration. In situations like negotiating or initiating partnerships, avoiding stating proposals too clearly may signal finality and inflexibility when it can be more productive to ask questions, tell stories, or suggest multiple possibilities.
For example, if you are trying to determine your boss’s risk tolerance for an innovative idea you have, you might tell a story about another organization implementing a similar idea to gauge her reaction rather than directly asserting your desired course of action.
Unlocking Opportunities
Ambiguity can act as a catalyst for collaborative uncovering of opportunities and innovation. It provides a fertile ground for multiple interpretations and thus inviting exploration and encouraging creative suggestions.
Consider a brainstorming session where a leader initiates ideation by simply posing open-ended questions without defining a clear goal. The ambiguity invites more ingenuity as a productive path to eventual focus and clarity.
Face-Saving and Flexibility
In scenarios where building and preserving relationships and saving face are crucial, ambiguity can help. Nothing is more corrosive to collaboration and innovation than inducing fear or defensiveness by striking sensitive topics with the precision of a missile, especially when the topic is incidental to the purpose of the communication. Nuanced communication can nurture potential hurt feelings and maintain psychological safety.
For example, when giving a superior constructive feedback, the reception and effect may be multiplied if it is combined with positive feedback, if details are sufficient to communicate the point but don’t go so far as precipitating a defensive reaction, or if only selective aspects are put forth. An appropriate level of ambiguity maximizes the possibility of the message being embraced, demonstrates goodwill, preserves the working relationship, and increases the probability that best efforts will be applied.
Implying Commitment without Taking a Stance
Any number of situations exist where we are asked to take a position that might put us at a disadvantage. In such situations, deploying ambiguity can fulfill the requirement to respond and can validate the other parties’ intent while leaving possibilities open.
Making statements like “This is an important issue” does not clearly delineate a stance, but can signal receipt of the message or respect for the question. Similarly, telling a prospect interested in a currently unplanned product feature “would be very useful” implies that the feature will be considered without committing to it.
When ambiguity can help
Here are some examples of specific situations where using ambiguity strategically could be helpful.
1 Negotiations: Ambiguity can prevent deadlock or the premature convergence on a suboptimal outcome, allowing negotiators to explore a broader range of acceptable outcomes. This facilitates a more flexible and adaptable approach to reaching a more mutually beneficial agreement.
2 Marketing: In marketing luxury goods, strategic ambiguity can create an aspirational allure, emphasizing associations and aesthetics over concrete details. A Dior perfume advertisement might, for example, focus on the elegance and prestige conveyed by the product, rather than its chemical composition or price.
3 Intervening in Complex Systems: For processes that are too intricate to detail completely, ambiguity can help focus attention on essential aspects while granting flexibility in execution. For example, in a luxury hotel’s customer service protocol, specifying core principles of hospitality may be more effective than detailing every conceivable scenario, creating an unwieldy standard operating procedure, which is impossible to operationalize.
4 Inspiring others: To inspire and motivate, sometimes the exact steps are less important than the overall vision and values. A recruit might be more drawn to a company’s aspirational, more vague goals rather than specific tactical details. Directionality over specificity allows recipients to more easily hear what they want to find in the message.
The toolkit
The tools of strategic ambiguity are as varied as the purposes for which they can be deployed. Leveraging the advantages of ambiguity involves mastering some of the following specific techniques.
1 Metaphors, Similes, & Analogies: Convey ideas abstractly by comparison with other situations.
Example: Our current financial situation is akin to a battle.
2 Selective Detailing: Choose details that imply your point of view without declaring it in detail.
Example: Say, “The room is warm,” rather than requesting the window be open.
3 Reframing: Use higher-level abstractions to focus on broader connections.
Example: A specific question about why something is so expensive is reframed as a question about value.
4 Word Choice & Phrasing: Employ strategic word choices to imply, suggest, or cushion.
Example: This course of action is certified.
5 Open-Ended Questions: Foster directed dialogue and exploration.
Example: What are the criteria for success?
6 Scenarios: Scenario planning can illustrate potential outcomes hypothetically, without commitment.
Example: Referencing cases that align with your goal.
Deciding when and how to be ambiguous
As with all high-stakes, strategic communication, we must consider the goal and context to help craft effective messages. In defining our messages, we must think about what we want our audience to know, feel, and do. Further, we need to consider how they will feel about our discussion topic and its associations. In situations where these might invite concern, confusion, or consternation, making our message more ambiguous might invite better acceptance and engagement.
Additionally, all communication occurs in a social context that defines what is accepted and expected. We must consider these norms along with the spoken and unspoken rules around clarity. For example, in the midst of a surgery or when flying an airplane, there is an expectation of clear, concise communication between professionals that outweighs some of the negative repercussions of communicating in such a direct manner.
Ethics must be considered
While ambiguity can be advantageous, it bears ethical implications. Purposeful ambiguity should not be wielded to mislead or deceive but rather to foster mutually beneficial outcomes. Each communication situation needs to net out the benefit versus potential optics of being ambiguous. While potentially more demanding, this vetting will allow for better socio-emotional and task outcomes.
In our pursuit of effective communication, strategic ambiguity offers a valuable dimension to business communication. It can foster flexibility, nurture creativity, and manage relational dynamics, sometimes achieving what unerring clarity and comprehensiveness cannot. By embracing ambiguity judiciously, business leaders and communicators create better paths to eventual clarity and beneficial outcomes
