In order for anyone to speak validly — and therefore, to have his or her comments vindicated, and therefore reach a genuine consensus and understanding — Habermas notes that a few more fundamental commitments are required. First, he notes, actors "have to treat this formulation of validity so seriously that it might be a precondition for any communication at all". Second, he asserts that "all actors must believe that their claims are able to meet these standards of validity". And third, he insists that there must be a common conviction among actors that all validity claims "are either already vindicated or could be vindicated".