4 Phrases That Annoy And Confuse People

I’m biased. . .I’m convinced that we live at a time when talk is cheap and it’s cheap because:

·        we say things without thinking

·        we’re too tired to think about what we really want to say

·        we find it easier to get rid of people with cheap talk than real talk

Cheap talk confuses people as it doesn’t let them know what you’re really thinking and feeling.  And sometimes that’s how we like it!  At some point, though, cheap talk gets expensive when we have to spend more time explaining why we didn’t deliver on what we seemed to have promised.

Here are four phrases that we all use on a daily basis.  We usually toss out these phrases when we don’t have time for a real answer or when we don’t want to give a real answer!

"Try"

is a “nice” word meant to give the other person some hope that they’ll get what they need.  I’m guilty of over-using this word, as I have this (annoying) habit of not wanting to disappoint people in the here and now.  I try to buy time with “try” in the hope that I’ll be able to help them.   More times than not, my “trying” doesn’t work out.

Tell the other person exactly what you’re going to do when you “try” to do what they’ve asked of you.  Let them know what your “trying” entails.

"I'll get back to you"

is said when you need to buy time and you want to get rid of the other person because you don’t want to have to deal with them right now.  How often do people get back to you when they say, “I’ll bet back to you”? 

Tell the other person specifically when you’ll get back to them and then make sure you do, even if you don’t have what they need.

"I guess . . ."

is mumbled when you only partially agree with the other person and for whatever reason you don’t want to continue the discussion or argument.  Your body language and tone of voice always gives you away!  Even if the person accepts your begrudging “I guess,” they’ll walk away thinking you have attitude.

Tell the other person what you agree with and what you don’t agree with, IF it is vital for them to know for the sake of a project or important plans.

"We'll see . . . “

is a fav phrase of our parents. It was their “nice” way of saying no.  Recently my ten-year old godson, Finn, asked if we could go to Target (and get a Skylander toy).  I said, “we’ll see.”  He looked puzzled and said, “What will we see?”  He pressed on, “will we see or will you see?” 

Tell the other person why you’re hesitant to give a firm answer; let them know what your doubts and concerns are.

And, yes, I surrendered. . .I took Finn to Target. . .and it wasn’t a “cheap” outing