Communication is one of the most effective tools to get ahead in life and also climb up many social and professional ladders in life. Communication is as tricky as it is useful. There are a lot of things that we tend to overlook and take part in flawed techniques of communication that can affect a lot of opportunities in our lives.
Our choice of words and sentence construction has a big effect on how people perceive you and what opinion they form of you. There are a lot of commonly used words that, for instance, can make you sound unreliable. Following is a list of words that you should avoid using, in order to come off as a more responsible and reliable person.
1. Modal verbs
Most common verbs include “might”, “maybe”, “would” and “should”. All of these are regularly used in normal conversation but they make you sound uninterested and unreliable. Using these words makes you come off as someone who is not sure about what they are saying or if they even know what they are talking about. If you avoid this particular set of words, you automatically sound more reliable and confident.
2. Ok
Everyone would agree when I say that this is the most annoying text response to have ever existed. And lets not even talk about just “k”. It is noncommittal and makes you sound grossly uninterested. If you say “ok” to someone, the person is bound to think that you are completely unsure about whatever it is that you are saying and cannot be considered to be a responsible individual. It almost feels like you are being forced to communicate.
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3. Awesome
Using the word “awesome” at the end of a fun anecdote or something momentary is a pretty acceptable and a well put together response, but if you say “awesome” after something important has been said to you or you are passing some information, you come off as unnecessarily casual. The word is originally meant to show excitement and enthusiasm, but if you use it too much, the novelty wears off and the word becomes insincere. Try not to overuse it.
4. Um
This rates pretty high on the annoying table too. When you say “um” on a regular basis, it makes you sound as clueless as you could possibly sound. It makes the listener feel like you are taking more time to think than you actually are and you would be surprised at how overused this word is. Try cutting down on using this word in order to sound wiser and more reliable.
5. Like
Stop immediately!! This is one of the most pointless words to have existed in the history of communication. The word kills the maturity and technicality of even the most erudite sentences and makes you sound extremely childish. It can be replaced very easily with a variety of words that will make you sound as if you have things under control and can construct sentences better. If you pay close attention to what you are saying, you’ll realize that you don’t need this word at all.
6. Actually
You need to realize that actually this word is pretty unnecessary. It is generally a demand in a sentence. What it does to sentences is almost always the exact opposite of what it means – kills the credibility. When you use such a redundant word in a sentence, it feels like you are overcompensating and that you actually do not mean anything.
7. Sorry
Most of the times, we use the word that is specifically meant for apologies, for entirely different things. We say sorry when we are embarrassed, or if we cannot hear someone and so on. Saying sorry when someone is apologizing is absolutely acceptable, but using the word too much makes you sound insecure.
8. Hopefully
If you use this word too much, it just gives off the vibe that you are not determined and are complacent. Using this word just makes you sound like you have no confidence in yourself. It is such an optimistic word yet it gives the complete opposite effect.