How Reading The Finer Print Can Literally Save Your Life

5 tips on Reading between the lines and focusing on finer details.

Often excluded from the main body of some vital documents, the “fine print” refers to important information that is placed in footnotes or supplemental documents.

This fine print often contains important information that the issuer does not want to call to the recipient’s attention but that is essential for the recipient to know. You must pay attention to the fine print in contractually binding agreements. Also, reading and understanding the implications of the fine print can prove invaluable and lifesaving in some situations.

History is replete with instances where just a few sentences or even words have had far-reaching consequences for good or ill. In daily life, reading the fine print simply means paying attention while reading in order to get the often not-so-obvious meanings and nuances hidden in them.

Case #1: Shortly after we gained our now-defunct washing machine, I noticed the machine was not working as intended. The fault was not from the machine or its manufacturers. We just have not figured out how to use it as per the manufacturer’s instructions. That was then.

When all else fails, go through the manual is one unwritten code among technicians. I had to go through the manual one more time; while thinking, “but there is no great deal about this machine. I’ve been following the right procedures all along now. Why all these hiccups?”

Then, I remembered it was our eldest son, that set up the machine for its first-time use. Apparently, he did everything right except for one missed step, — the initial calibration step (to be performed before first-time use). Poring over the manual I went through the Eco Drum Clean step (even though unnecessary). This step took over 1 hour. Next, I carried out the calibration procedure on the machine. Easy, just follow the manual. This lasted for about 5 minutes.

Next, I did a mock wash (no washing powder used). Finally, I tried the machine wash cycle. All went well. What a relief. And so I washed the children’s dirty clothes. Next, I washed my T-shirts. And finally, I had to re-wash the half-washed jeans again. With a satisfying sigh and smile of relief, all was well as all ended well.

Case # 2: In 2015, Yahoo reported the story of the woman who received help and rescue after sending a 911 distress message on an online pizza order receipt. While placing the online order, she added in the remark section a short, nondescript note 911 Hostage Help! Those Pizza people noted and decoded this line. Help was sent, and the police came to rescue the woman in good time.

Case # 3: Just yesterday, I made a mistake. Luckily enough it wasn’t earth-shattering. I had mistakenly backdated a letter to a business partner by 7 years. Just as I was about to hit send, I noticed that my subject title had 2014 instead of 2021.

Case # 4: I’ve been ruminating over this article and its older version for weeks. This morning I stumbled on Sean Keman’s story of how Citibank has transferred $975 million dollars. To make matters worse, this error is not something that a stroke of the pen can quickly undo. Sean concluded his story with an astute quip for the rest of us, “Proof your work, people. Bad typos have a long shelf life.”

What is the common refrain in each of the four scenarios above? You‘re right on the answer — attention (or lack of attention) to details.

In our over-gadget blessed to distraction planet, the endless plethora of our “can’t-live-without” gadgets and apps also double as weapons of mass distractions — WMD (a la, Dr Os Guinness).

Regarding the universally perversive decline in reading habits, a venerable professor once retorted in our class of postgraduate students, “if you want to hide anything from our people (yours and mine), put it in writing.” The irony is not lost on any of us now. After all who has time to read when we can amuse ourselves to death (a la, Neil Postman) with our glittering candy bars?

Truth is that most of us do not have or ever make time to read long windy writings. And which subterfuge could be more effective than hiding your message and its meaning in long detailed small letters?

5 Tips on how to identify fine prints

1. One thing at a time. Do not overstretch yourself or your reach. Swimming against an endless stream of gadgets and apps, it is so easy to forget that you can’t do everything all at once and all by yourself. The level of your effectiveness will increase to the extent you can identify and focus your energy on what matters most now. Use your organizer and let your goal at any time be to finish the next item on your list of priorities.
2. Be wary of small distractions waiting to fritter away your life. When I was in high school, my math teacher used to coax his reluctant students with this timeless quip, “The end shall tell.” Without specific future goals and plans on how to reach them, the future soon arrives at our doorsteps with all the fruits of the decisions we made or failed to make.
3. Read, one book at a time. These days when anyone who so wishes can lop about sizeable libraries in his pockets, it could be a challenge to concentrate, read and finish a book when there are millions of other outstanding books, stories and essays begging for attention. Yet, even if you are a student with the challenge of having to cover various subject areas while pursuing any college degree, you can not read more than one book and one chapter at a time. That was the advice my pastor gave me many years ago. I’ve been following it ever since. Trying to do otherwise only makes one a dilettantish purveyor of all books who only succeed at mastering none and never learning or benefitting from any.
4. Pay attention to details especially those contained in small prints. Do not be in a hurry to gloss over them before their meanings and implications are clear enough to you.
5. When in doubt consult your manuals (Do they still make those stuffy addendums these days?) Or better still consult trusted experts.

The Takeaways

The morale in each of the four cases above is — To always give attention to details. Take time out to read the finer print. That is the pathway to excellence. Moreover, thereby, you may save lives, including yours.

In order to identify the fine print and avoid the pitfalls of glossing over them:

• Do one thing at a time. Do not overstretch yourself or your reach.
• Be wary of minor distractions waiting to fritter away your life.
• Even as a student, you can’t read more than one book at a time.
• Pay attention to details especially those contained in small prints.
• When in doubt consult your manuals (and the experts).

SOURCES

• The “Fine Print.”
• It Pays To Read The Fine Print in Contracts

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