This Sunday morning I was standing in the bakery, waiting to be served when a young lady enters and ordered a jacket potato and baked beans, advertised on the chalk board;

“Sorry, we don’t serve jacket potatoes, its Sunday’, came the quick reply.

The lady was a little taken aback and I couldn’t help but smile to myself, inwardly I hope.

This amused me for a number of reasons and got me thinking again about language and ambiguity.

Yes, it was a Sunday, but why were jacket potatoes not available on a Sunday.

Was it their day or rest? Were they all at church? Was it a family day out for them?

We often don’t say what we mean or mean what we say. Our language is littered with unintentional (and intentional) ambiguity and misunderstandings.

Some ambiguity, misinformation, misunderstanding and misperceptions are not that important but others are very important, if we are trying to convey an important message.

The message here is, that if you are not sure of the meaning of the message(s) you are receiving, ask questions to elicit what the person is trying to tell you in a way that encourages a favourable response such as ; “ I was really looking forward to one of your amazing jacket potatoes which come highly recommended and I have travelled from Australia to try them so, you can imagine how disappointed I am that they are not available. Could you explain please why they are not available today, Sunday and whether there is anyway you could make an exception, given how far I have travelled?”

I am sure you can think of other better and less manipulative ways of asking but if it were me, I would be determined to get that thing that I had set my heart on and which I was clearly already picturing in my mind. The crispy jacket potato and baked beans!

You can then decide how you are going to respond. At least, you will have given it your best shot.

Alternatively, let it go (pivot) and move on to the next jacket potato seller. Is it really that important!

Self manage your craving and irritation.

Don’t let that jacket potato exerts its power over you!