Hedging Your Answers
Bill Warner Tuesday, May 26, 2009
I just read another interesting observation about using words that end in “ish.” These ish-words provide a way for you to hedge your commitments and bound your answers when you don’t really know.
This habit can hurt you badly
Consistently hedging your answers will create an image of you that will undermine your credibility:
- You appear less than honest
- You give the impression that you don’t know what you should know
- Your answers and commitments are not going to be understood
What will happen
Your management or board of directors will not appreciate this habit at all. You will end up getting more questions from them to narrow your answers to something specific. This takes time and energy and will frustrate them greatly. This habit can become so irksome that you could lose your job over it. If you find yourself getting endless questions following your answers, you better take a look at yourself first as the cause of it.
Filed Under: Business Operations, Business Coaching & Leadership Skills
Bill Warner is the Managing Partner of Paladin and Associates, a business consulting firm in the Research Triangle Park area of central North Carolina, and is the Chairman of the Triangle Accredited Capital Forum, an angel investor network with over one hundred members throughout the southeast.
Bill Warner is the Managing Partner of Paladin and Associates, a business consulting firm in the Research Triangle Park area of central North Carolina, and is the Chairman of the Triangle Accredited Capital Forum, an angel investor network with over one hundred members throughout the southeast.
