When I read the headline (above) in The Press (www.stuff.co.nz/the-press) on 8 October, I saw the accompanying photo of Tsunami damage, together with a smaller headline ‘Tower Insurance'. For whatever reason, I interpreted the headline incorrectly - that Samoa was claiming that their tally (for whatever) was rising - when it may not be doing so, or when there was no possible reason for it to do so.
In actual fact, the article, quite rightly, meant that the ‘Claims Tally' for Samoa was rising as new damage was located and reported.
No doubt our perception is linked to our experience and maybe we've heard so many people complain about insurance companies that we've been left with the impression that they'll avoid paying out whenever possible. This article dispels this impression as we read the article more fully, and by informing us that Tower Insurance staff with relatives in Samoa had been given extended paid leave and assistance to fly home and attend to their families. In other words, Tower Insurance is NOT portraying Samoa in a bad light.
So what's the problem? None really, apart from the fact that ambiguity in writing continues to create confusion in the mind of the reader. Whatever it is you want to say, make sure it's unambiguous.
Similar confusion would be generated with the headline: POLICE FOUND SAFE UNDER BLANKET.
Are we to assume that the police were found, safely huddled together under a blanket, or do we assume that the police found a safe under a blanket?
We all KNOW what we mean when we write a message - but let's make sure that the reader understands the message the way we meant it to be understood!
Written by Sue Saunders
