If you have ever had a misunderstanding with another person, where each of you looked at a situation very differently – after each of you thought you had an agreement – you know what the power of words can mean. Somehow, someway the words can get in the way.
This issue really hit home with me recently. I am taking Continuing Education Courses as a requirement to renew my California Brokers License. In the Real Estate Contracts class, this very topic was addressed – to say what you mean and mean what you say – by using words correctly. Here are 3 simple rules that were emphasized that you may find of interest:
- Never change your language unless you wish to change your meaning, and always change your language if you wish to change your meaning……Scott J. Burnham, Drafting Contracts, 1987.
- Do not use different words to denote the same things; and don’t use the same word to denote different things…..Legal Drafting Style Manual, March 1978.
- Do not use “and/or.” The expression is ambiguous. It has caused many lawsuits. The words “and” and “or” have quite different meanings. You might think that “and/or” means A or B, or both. Not true. Some courts have even said “and/or” means the court can choose either “and” or “or”, whichever the justice of the situation requires. Other courts have come to other conclusions. Don’t use the expression. ….Robert C. Dick, Q.C., Legal Drafting (2d).
The lesson here is to “say what you mean and mean what you say.”