READ OUR BLOG - Clarity is everything

12 April 2010

If I had a pound for every time I’ve heard the phrase “Let’s be absolutely clear about this” when used by politicians during interviews, I’d be writing this blog from a yacht in the Med, maybe.

The words ‘clear’ and ‘clearly’ are employed by parliamentarians like anchors on which to hang their arguments, as if attempting to focus the attention of the viewer or listener.  On almost every occasion I’ve heard it said in a political context, no attempt is made to be clear at all. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Rather than deliver a missive that does offer clarity on a particular issue, the phrase instead is often a prelude to a torrent of rhetoric and verbage that tends to reflect some misguided notion of credibility. Far from being confident of an understanding, we are left none the wiser and sometimes irritated that no attempt has been made to answer the question.

You may have heard the phrase, “Why use a single word response when 300 will do.”

There’s something refreshingly honest about ‘Yes’ and ‘No’. Like metaphorical scythes, these words cut through the undergrowth of dogma and indecision. But this is a game of cat and mouse, a verbal sparring where tactics are implemented to dodge questions or steer the debate towards a different agenda that the interviewee feels more comfortable addressing.

So, what’s the point, I hear you cry.

Simply this. At a time in the political cycle when people’s livelihoods and indeed, the fate of the country, depends on clarity in order that voters can choose their preferred candidate, I would urge politicians to familiarise themselves with the meaning of the word.

If you mean to be clear, then do so. If not, then it’s nothing but patronising drivel, which has as much value as silence.

The same goes for businesses in their communication with customers. Say what you mean and while you’re about it, mean what you say.

Everyone clear on that?

 

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