Speech Hacks to be More Decisive
I was in a leadership program with Christoper Avery some years ago. In that program, people would say “ don’t should on yourself. ” Another friend had years ago told me that “should” is the saddest word in English because it means you see value in something, haven’t done it, and probably won’t. I embarked on a quest to get rid of some aspects of self-defeating speech: Instead of “I’m sorry” say “Thank you” Instead of “No thanks, I can’t eat that” say “No thanks, I won’t eat that.” Instead of “I don’t know how” say “I haven’t learned YET ” Instead of “ I should ” say “I may ” or “I would like to “. You know, these little things make a difference for me. The speech patterns are more decisive and confident, reflect agency and choice, and generally help me avoid shame (in myself) and appearing uncertain or indecisive. These are just little things, and it's not magic. One a person chooses an attitude they need to find language that supports that attitude. My speech...