Should vs Must

[Reading time: 41 seconds]

I was talking to a friend over the weekend about his recent hospital appointment.

In the appointment letter, they advised that he should arrange for someone to drive him home after his procedure.

When he arrived for his hospital appointment on his own, they told him they couldn’t proceed.

Why?

Because they insisted that he must have someone to drive him home.

Why?

Because they then revealed that the procedure required the use of medication that made it unsafe for him to drive for the rest of the day.

So what?

We need to be clear about whether we are advising or instructing someone.

SHOULD they do something or MUST they do something?

We SHOULD slow down when it’s raining.

We MUST stop at a red light.

We SHOULD have cyber insurance.

We MUST train staff so they know why and how the cyber criminals target them.

 

PS This still doesn’t beat the ‘mandatory but not compulsory’ comment of an Irish government minister during a debate (debacle) about a national identity card that was not a national identity card.