I read an excellent article at www.entrprenuer.com titled “11 Things Smart People Don’t Say“, and it’s a good read. There were four things, though, that stuck with me after reading. These four responses can hurt our credibility and confidence pretty severely.
- “This is the way it’s always been done,” or “We’ve always done it this way.” These sound lazy and could be misinterpreted as a sign of unwillingness to adapt or change. Instead, you may say something like, “There may be a better way to do this” or “There is room to improve this.”
- “No problem.” Saying this can lead people to think their request was a problem, to begin with, and lean towards a negative way of reacting. Instead, you’re better off responding with “You’re welcome” or “My pleasure.”
- “This will only take a minute” or “Do you have a minute?” could give others the impression of rushing from a givers or receivers standpoint. Instead, say, “We need to go over this” or “Can we go over this?”.
- “I’ll try.” This one is pretty obvious; it doesn’t sound confident at all. Instead, try saying, “Let me see what I can do.” or more confidently, “I’ll see what I can do.”
These simple changes to how you respond can boost not only your credibility but also your confidence. The long term effects of continued usage of the weaker responses can be detrimental to your success. Be a better version of yourself.