Coping with Uncertain Responses

While reading Chapter 10, I thought the plans they had laid out to cope with uncertain responses was rather interesting (begins on page 129). Message plans are basically a sequence of actions that may be taken in order to achieve goals. The strategy I found most common, or at least have witnessed in several instances, is 'Hedging'. Griffin defines Hedging as a "use of strategic ambiguity and humor to provide a way for both parties to save face when a message fails to achieve its goal" (pg. 131). I'm sure many of you have witnessed this as well. How many times do you find yourself in a conversation with someone who uses ambiguous words when telling you something because they are not sure how you will respond, or even more so, when people try to play it off as a joke when you don't respond favorably. I've heard "I was only kidding!" as an excuse to save face so many times, especially when you know they weren't.