2020-10-13 at 5:55 AM UTC
Your job title isn’t the only thing that determines how influential you are. Every word you use at work expresses your personal brand, from your confidence and authority to your depth of knowledge. And it’s verbs–those action words that should be the engine of a sentence–that most often trip us up.
Overusing certain weak verbs can make you sound weaker, too. They can undercut your ability to inspire others and suggest to listeners–from top executives and colleagues to your direct reports–that you aren’t really sure of yourself. So while there’s certainly room for uncertainty in any workplace, you might want to trim these verbs from your vocabulary.
1. “Think”
Who doesn’t use the expression “I think?” Your coworker might say, “I think we should move ahead with this project,” or your boss may tell you, “I think you’ve got a good idea.” Harmless enough, right?
The only trouble is that “think” doesn’t sound definitive. It subtly saps the power of whatever follows it. “Think” derives from an Old English word (“þencan” or “thencan”) meaning to “conceive in the mind, consider, meditate.” In other words, you’re subtly suggesting that you’re still considering the position you espouse–that you’re not sure of it.
In ordinary conversation, “I think” is a throwaway phrase that won’t even register on most people, but you may want to steer clear of it at work. While it’s fine to mutter occasionally (“I think I’ll have coffee with my friend”), you’re better off axing any prefatory phrase in professional settings. Say, “You’ve got a good idea” or, “That’s an excellent proposal.” If you want a replacement verb, try, “I’m confident your plan will work!”
2. “Need”
When your boss says, “I need this report as soon as possible,” she undercuts herself. Using “need” conjures up a feeling of dependency on the part of the speaker, rather than of obligation and responsibility on the part of the team. I once heard a vice president say to her subordinate, “I need you to do something for me.” It made the tone of her request sound pleading rather than empowered. Simply put, “I need” makes you sound needy. To project more confidence, swap it with firm but polite phrases like, “Please have this report to me by next Friday.”
3. “Want”
“Want” is really similar to “need”: It suggests the speaker is wanting or lacking in some way. If a boss tells a subordinate, “I want you to improve the quality of your work,” that statement suggests the boss is not getting what she wants–which maybe she isn’t. But the better way to get what you want is to simply set forth facts: “Your work on this report needs to be higher quality.” That puts the onus on the employee.
Similarly, if you tell your boss, “I want a raise,” you’ve made an emotional appeal and signaled your lack of confidence. It’s better to bring together a verb of conviction (“I believe” or “I’m convinced”) and your reasons: “I believe my pay and performance during the last year make a strong case for a raise.”
4. “Guess”
“Guessing” conveys tentativeness. I once heard a CEO tell analysts, “Our best guess is that our profit for year’s end will be marginally better than last year’s.” There were so many ways he could have reframed that more confidently: “We expect our profit for the year to be ahead of last year’s,” or, “Our results should surpass last year’s.”
If you aren’t sure of the results, that’s fine! Don’t lie or exaggerate. Rather than “guess,” use the most confident expression you can.
5. “Hope”
Leaders often begin statements with “I hope”: “I hope we’ll get that sale” or, “I hope you’ll be able to take on that assignment.” Rather than inspiring confidence, “hope” has a prayer-like quality, suggesting that the speaker has little control over the outcome.
What are some alternatives? Instead of saying you “hope” that a team will bring in a client sale, tell them, “I’m looking forward to a win,” or “I know you’ll give it your all.” These statements are much more empowering. They show your confidence in what your team can already do, rather than subtly questioning their performance in the future.
6. “Suppose”
You’re having coffee with a colleague who asks if you’re going to an upcoming town hall meeting. If you answer, “I suppose so,” you quietly indicate that it doesn’t really matter to you–you’re not really engaged.
There’s no occasion in the workplace where conveying your indifference and inertia will improve your influence or authority. Instead, find something to express your passion for (even if it’s not the meeting experience itself): “Yes, I’ll definitely be there–I want to hear what management has to say.” You may not think this matters when you’re talking to a teammate, but it does. News travels fast, and if the words you repeatedly use suggest a “don’t really care” attitude, it’s only a matter of time before your reputation and influence begin to dip.
Language is a powerful force in all your impromptu conversations. And because there are more chances to use them, the small words and phrases you resort to every day at work can have an outsized impact on your leadership ability. Cut these six verbs from your lexicon, and you’ll start to notice your power and confidence climb.
I dont disagree with the article but its missing many more examples.
any of you care to add more?
"inappropriate" is a big one, i only ever heard women and the most vaginal men utter that.
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2020-10-13 at 3:22 PM UTC
Using the term poc, feminism, and any words or phrases the left comes up with
2020-10-13 at 3:34 PM UTC
idk, whoever wrote this is a faggot and I just say whatever I want. This is just the same shit they teach you in sales training, use positive words not negative.
Don't say things like "I don't know" or "no" because those are negative statements. Phrase things in a way where yes is the only option. this is common manipulation used at even the lowest levels of sales training and I think it's gay because "it gets results" but you are manipulating a person with language instead of being honest.
The truth is being your honest and true self gets you nowhere in life because those are not the values our society is based on. That's why people have to follow certain speech patterns of the professional world because its proven to work in this culture. I just find the entire thing disgusting and I think people are all fucking retards, also that shit doesn't work on me.
Basically it's just treating people like NPC's because people literally are programmed to act a certain way which is why scamming is so easy to do if you use the right words. People are just stupid
2020-10-13 at 3:39 PM UTC
Sudo
Black Hole
[my hereto riemannian peach]
"words are used most effectively in context specific scenarios"
Holy fuck PROMOTE THIS MAN
2020-10-13 at 3:40 PM UTC
Originally posted by the man who put it in my hood
idk, whoever wrote this is a faggot and I just say whatever I want. This is just the same shit they teach you in sales training, use positive words not negative.
Don't say things like "I don't know" or "no" because those are negative statements. Phrase things in a way where yes is the only option. this is common manipulation used at even the lowest levels of sales training and I think it's gay because "it gets results" but you are manipulating a person with language instead of being honest.
The truth is being your honest and true self gets you nowhere in life because those are not the values our society is based on. That's why people have to follow certain speech patterns of the professional world because its proven to work in this culture. I just find the entire thing disgusting and I think people are all fucking retards, also that shit doesn't work on me.
Basically it's just treating people like NPC's because people literally are programmed to act a certain way which is why scamming is so easy to do if you use the right words. People are just stupid
Being honest all the time about everything is very poor social skills which will lead you into getting manipulated and scammed by everyone around you, as you more or less explained.
honesty should be a value but living in that lalaland wont get you anywhere in the real world. you sink or swim in this one.
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2020-10-13 at 3:54 PM UTC
I'm too violent and unstable to be scammed. People have tried before but the last person that did I showed up to his house with a knife and took his xbox because he 'disrespected' me. I don't even really know if he was trying to scam me but I thought I heard him say something like he wanted to and because i'm a violent and unstable person I decided to fuck with him because I had 'moral justification'.
People usually just avoid me all together and anyone that tries to scam me gives up quickly because of how fucked I am. Sometimes that even pisses me off and I get violent towards someone that gives up trying to scam me because fuck you bitch you give up too easy what the fuck is wrong with you lets fucking fight and they are like stay the hell away from me whats wrong with you and call the police.
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2020-10-13 at 4:11 PM UTC
Narc
Space Nigga
[connect my yokel-like scolytidae]
"I don't even really know..."
"but I thought..."
"because I had moral justification..."
"...because of how fucked I am"
"sometimes..."
.
2020-10-13 at 4:11 PM UTC
I turned my life around because I gave up on the professional world. It's toxic and I don't want to spend my Christmas doing cocaine in bathrooms with fifty year old women like Octavian does it's just cringe
2020-10-15 at 4:42 AM UTC
Ajax
African Astronaut
[rumor the placative aphakia]
As mentioned in your article, “I think” was big for me. I said that a lot earlier in my career life. Someone finally told me to stop saying “I think” because obviously it’s something I think or I wouldn’t be saying it. Changed my life.
