Fun_People Archive
3 Nov
Ambiguous Recommendations

Date: Wed,  3 Nov 93 15:25:24 PST
To: Fun_People
Subject: Ambiguous Recommendations

 From: <dante@microsoft.com>
 From: deanb@microsoft.com (Dean Ballard)

You're called upon for an opinion of a friend who is extremely lazy.  You
don't want to lie --- but you also don't want to risk losing even a lazy
friend.

Try this line: ``In my opinion,'' you say as sincerely as you can manage,
``you will be very fortunate to get this person to work for you.''

This gem of double meaning is the creation of Robert Thornton, a professor
of economics at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA.

Thornton was frustrated about an occupational hazard for teachers, having
to write letters of recommendation for people with dubious qualifications,
so he put together an arsenal of statements that can be read two ways.

He calls his collection the Lexicon of Inconspicuously Ambiguous
Recommendations.  Or ``LIAR'', for short.

``[LIAR] may be used to offer a negative opinion of the personal qualities,
work habits or motivation of the candidate while allowing the candidate to
believe that it is high praise,'' Thornton explained last week.

Some examples from LIAR:

To describe a person who is totally inept: ``I most enthusiastically
recommend this candidate with no qualifications whatsoever.''

To describe an ex-employee who had problems getting along with fellow
workers: ``I am pleased to say that this candidate is a former colleague of
mine.''

To describe a candidate who is so unproductive that the job would be better
left unfilled: ``I can assure you that no person would be better for the
job.''

To describe a job applicant who is not worth further consideration:  ``I
would urge you to waste no time in making this candidate an offer of
employment.''

To describe a person with lackluster credentials: ``All in all, I cannot
say enough good things about this candidate or recommend him too highly.''

Thornton pointed out that LIAR is not only useful in preserving friendships,
but it also can help avoid serious legal trouble in a time when laws have
eroded the confidentiality of letters of recommendation.

In most states, he noted, job applicants have the right to read the letters
of recommendations and can even file suit against the writer if the contents
are negative.

When the writer uses LIAR, however, ``whether perceived correctly or not by
the candidate, the phrases are virtually litigation-proof,'' Thornton said.

© 1993 Peter Langston