3. Vague Statements (Epstein)

The topic I will be talking about is vague sentences. We hear vague sentences everyday. Sometimes we hear it so much that we don’t even notice how vague they are. Sometimes I feel as if certain types of vague sentences are up for a listener’s interpretation, therefore whenever they hear a vague statement they don’t really see it as vague. One example that I think about is from the television show called “Everybody hates Chris.” One day a neighbor saw Chris’s neighbor Tasha giving him a kiss on the cheek for saving her from a rat that was in her room. When that neighbor asked if there was anything going on between Chris and Tasha, Chris responded by saying “Oh, you know how it is.” Well apparently that neighbor didn’t know how it was and suddenly rumors began to spread throughout the neighborhood about Chris and Tasha. Long story short, this ended up in an ugly confrontation between Chris and Tasha and between Chris's mom and Tasha's grandma. So what is to be learned from this incident? It is always good to be clear and concise in whatever you say so that you are not subject to misinterpretation. By avoiding being vague, you can save yourself a lot of trouble with others. So remember, clear and concise, because not everyone “knows how it is.”