My old boss told me to stop saying 'I think' in emails and it actually got me promoted after 8 months

He said it makes you sound unsure even when you know the answer, so I dropped it and started getting replies within an hour instead of three days, has anyone else had a small word change make that big a difference in how coworkers treat you?

3 comments

3 Comments

smith.ray3d ago

That "sorry to bother you" thing really hit home. I had the same problem until a coworker pulled me aside and said I was literally apologizing for existing in a work email. So I switched to just leading with "quick question about X" or "need your input on Y" and it changed everything. People started replying faster because I wasn't wasting their time with apologies before getting to the point. Also stopped using "just" like "just checking in" or "just wanted to follow up" because that word makes it sound like you're being a pest. Small stuff adds up way more than people realize.

paulw632d ago

What is it about the word "just" that makes us all sound like we're apologizing for taking up space? I caught myself writing "just wanted to check in" yesterday and literally deleted my whole draft to start over because it felt so weak. Honestly though, I still have a habit of adding "sorry" when someone doesn't reply for a while, like I'm the one who did something wrong for following up. Maybe it's just me but I'm pretty sure I could cure world hunger if I put half the energy I waste on apologizing into actually getting work done.

theawest3d ago

The "replies within an hour instead of three days" part really jumped out at me. There's a trick nobody talks about where you can keep the meaning without the weak word. Instead of "I think we should do X" just say "we should do X" and let your logic stand on its own. It forces you to actually commit to your ideas instead of hiding behind a hedge. Also noticed that when I stopped saying "sorry to bother you" in messages people started treating me like a colleague instead of a favor asker.