Chris Jones has an interesting post "On Semantics: Ambiguity is the Enemy." As someone who has spent 30 years writing professionally, I think he makes some very good points.
Our messages get misunderstood, if not ignored, when we're not careful in choosing our words. It's worse if we fail to consider what filters our audience may use to interpret them.
But speaking as someone who has spent 10 years working with disparate cultures, organizations and stakeholders, I find that, quite often, ambiguity is a reliable friend. No matter how precisely we choose our words, we can never assume they will be heard or interpreted exactly as we intend by every recipient. Instead, I find that being deliberately ambiguous forces project participants to collectively negotiate the meaning that will apply to the context at hand. And for the duration, they will own that meaning and take responsibility for its maintenance.
