If you’re in a position of influence, there are certain words you should be using, to make your point. Make sure you use these words, when speaking to your significant other, friends or family, employees and colleagues. Also use these words to strangers you come across daily.
If there’s a crowd who needs to listen to you, be careful what you say. Realize you’re not smarter or better than them.
Always choose and weight the words you speak accordingly, always back up and justify all your statements. Have valid reasons for all your arguments or decisions.
Always be ready to have a reason, for the context of words you use. Verify everything you do with sense and logic, and never from a position of authority or arrogance.
When taking the time to explain your statement especially if they’re controversial, it opens up issues for discussion or criticism. Doing so also improves your personal development.
Words To Say On A Daily Basis
• Always Say “You’re Welcome”
Think about the last time you gave a well thought out gift, and the recipient appeared ungrateful and awkward. Their reaction took away from the gesture.
On the other hand, once someone “Thanks You,” or are complimenting or praising you some how, don’t spoil the moment for them.
This even if the spotlight makes you feel uneasy, make eye contact and say, “You’re Welcome.” Make it all about the other person.
• Admit “You Were Wrong”
We all make mistakes and have poor judgement on occasion. So whenever you’re in the wrong, admit it by saying you were wrong, you made a mistake.
What then happens once you admit to your mistake, is you’ll earn more respect rather than losing it.
• Say You’re “Sorry”
Saying sorry is not a sign of weakness. No one’s perfect. It’s our ego that stops us from admitting we made a mistake, and then we attempt to cover it up somehow.
We all have things we always need to apologize for, which includes our actions, words, omissions, failing to step up or step in.
We fail to show support or respect, everything we should be sorry for. So the easy fix, is to just say you’re sorry and mean it.
Follow up the apology by adding a disclaimer such as, “I was really upset because…” or a statement that places the blame back on you.
Say you’re sorry, be genuine, say why you’re sorry while taking all justified blame, that it’s your fault. No less, no more. What you’re doing is making a fresh start.
• Tell Someone “You Are Awesome”
No one ever gets the proper or enough praise they deserve. So choose someone, anyone, who continuously does or did something well, and say to them, “Wow, that was excellent how you…”
Feel free to go back in time by saying, “It was great how you handled that problem last month…” as doing so makes just as much an impact right now, as it would have back then.
Giving out praise is a gift which costs absolutely nothing to the giver, but is priceless for the recipient.
So begin praising. Those who are around you will appreciate and love you for it, and you’ll also like yourself more for doing so.
• “Let Me Help You“
Most people think asking for help, is a sign of weakness. So because of this, most will hesitate to ask. But everyone at one time or another, needs a bit of assistance.
But avoid saying, “Is there anything I can help you with?” as what most will instinctively say is “No thanks.”
Instead, be more specific. Find something you can be helpful with by saying, “I have a few moments, can I help you finish this?”
Make your offer in a way that feels more collaborative and not patronizing. Then actually be prepared to help.
• Ask “Will You Be Able To Show Me”
There’s a saying, “Advice is temporary, but knowledge is forever.” Knowing exactly what to do helps, but knowing precisely how or why, can mean everything.
Once you ask someone to be shown or taught, then several things will happen. What you’re doing, is implicitly showing your respect to that person who’s giving the advice.
You’re showing you trust their experience, skill, or knowledge, and then make sure you express the value of the advice given.
Never ask for their input, but rather ask to be trained, taught, or tutored.
• At Times Just Say “Nothing”
There are times, where the best thing is to just say nothing. This especially if you’re frustrated, upset, or angry. Just let it go.
You may think venting out loud will make you feel a lot better, but that’s not always true. Results will always come and go, but feelings will last forever.
Once you criticize someone, especially in a group setting, it may appear they’ll get over it, but deep inside, the scar remains.
So before you speak, consider how they’ll think and feel before you evaluate whether your decision makes objective sense.
You can recover from a mistake, which is made because of inaccurate or faulty projections, but not from the damage you inflicted on someones self-esteem.
So make sure, you remain quiet until you know exactly what you should be saying, and exactly what affect your words will have.