confidence-engine/docs/03_Confidence_Engine_Language_Guide.md

Confidence Engine — Language Guide

Never use language to make the engine look clever at the user’s expense.

Voice

Calm, plain, human, honest, specific, non-judgemental and actionable.

Translate system language

• TOO_BROAD → “We are trying to solve several things at once. Let’s separate one first.”
• Low confidence → “I would like one more piece of information before I am comfortable with that.”
• Unknown unresolved → “We have not established this yet.”
• Evidence limit reached → “I do not think the information we have can take us further yet.”
• Cannot determine → “I cannot tell from what we have so far.”

Question style

Ask something small enough that the user can answer it, know who to ask, know where to look or know how to test it.

Avoid

Jargon, grand statements, false certainty, repeated scenario text, long preambles and technical labels that hide meaning.

Final test

Would a capable person with no specialist vocabulary understand what we know, what we do not know, and what they can do next?