What is Syntactic Ambiguity?
When a sentence has multiple interpretations depending on grammar, punctuation, or emphasis.
Business Application
There is a whole industry designed around removing ambiguity from agreements (legal contracts). This is because when making an agreement or conducting a transaction, it is essential that both parties have clear expectations. Reviewing a sentence for potential ambiguity will expose any potential ill-intent and save you from major headaches.
Example
“Earn a salary, commission or bonuses!”
Why This is a Fallacy
A job listing with this language may be interpreted as a salary with bonuses (or commission.) It may also be interpreted as commission only with the potential for salary (or bonuses.) One situation is much less desirable than the other.
Tom Waters
Owner at Everyday Sales
Everyday Sales is an online resource for sales and business education. We expose the psychological exploits used in sales and marketing to empower our clients to become better professionals. Our feature content includes Sales in Cinema, Cognitive Biases in Business, Logical Fallacies in Business, and Quotes Deconstructed.
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