WORKPLACE COLLABORATION
a bit.” Fifty minutes later I was still waiting for his call. His interpretation of “in a bit” was vastly different than mine; I anticipated him calling within about 15 minutes. His definition of “in a bit” was obviously much longer than mine. How many of these words do you use without thinking, and yet you expect or assume others will know your definition?
a. “About,” as in “I will meet you in about an hour.” (Is that 45 minutes, 55-65 minutes or closer to 90 minutes?), “It should take about a week.” (Will it take four to five days or seven to 10 days?)
b. “Can you talk?” Are you asking if I have regained my voice, or if I am able to vocalize, or do you want to engage in a confidential
conversation and you want to be sure I am alone?
c. “Soon,” as in “I will work on it soon.” Many people interpret soon to mean next; however, soon can occur hours from the conversation.
d. “A few,” as in “give it a few turns.” Do I turn it until it is tight, or loose, or simply turn it more than twice?
e. “OK.” Think about it. When you say OK, are you acknowledging the other person’s perspective or statements, or are you agreeing with them? Generally speaking, men use OK as a way to acknowledge and women say OK to voice agreement.
f. “Always” and “never” are not as they appear. Same with “almost always” and “almost never.”
g. “Next,” as in “next Friday.” Imagine it is a Wednesday and you are told you have a meeting next Friday. Is it two days or nine days away? Would the Friday two days away be considered this Friday?
h. “In a minute” or “in a second.” We know those times are not accurate. A minute could stretch to 10-15 minutes and a second could be five minutes. Let’s hope someone is not holding their breath waiting.
Those are the most obvious ambiguous words. There are others that are not quite as startling: good leadership, motivation, empowerment, and even safety. Unexpected consequences can result from unclear words or poor word choice.
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DOMmagazine.com | may 2016
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