RIP certainty theatre: fixing the language of commitment

Themes: Product | Governance | Teams

When a team says “this will be done soon” or “we’re confident,” what do they actually mean?

Usually, something different to everyone in the room.

Words like soon, likely, and on track create false alignment, hide risk and lead to missed expectations. We think we’re being clear - but we’re not.

In this interactive session, you’ll see just how widely these terms are interpreted, and why that ambiguity creates real delivery problems. 

We’ll then explore a practical shift: moving from vague language to clearer, probability-based communication grounded in flow.

Participant takeaways:

• a clear understanding of why commitments get misunderstood
• simple ways to replace vague language with clearer communication
• practical techniques to express confidence using probabilities, not guesswork