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Tip 139: Don't exaggerate. |
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Did you get 22 calls or 6 on the ad? Did you have a "fabulous" job offer, or was it adequate enough to make you consider a move? Was the warehouse barrel "smoldering," or did it go up in flames and destroy valuable merchandise? Exaggeration for a good story is acceptable; people understand "creating the mood" to generate a good laugh. |
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But when people exaggerate routinely, over time they destroy their credibility. Others will not accept "problems" as problems. They'll not greet "successes" as successes. They'll not use "facts" as facts. |
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Tip 140: Fight the urge to top off the tank. |
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Just as though topping off the gas tank before heading cross-country, some people feel as though they have to "top off" everybody else's point. They always have a "can-you-top-this?" story after everyone else's. A funnier joke. A worse problem. A heavier workload. Fight the urge to always top what anybody says. |
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Tip 141: Avoid overqualifying. |
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Have you ever walked into a lawyer's office and asked his or her opinion about whether you should go to court on a particular issue? And after an hour, you walk away still not knowing the lawyer's expert opinion? That's because some lawyers fear making an outright statement or judgment that may come back to haunt them. They fear being taken out of context. They fear being misquoted. They fear that the consequences will be more severe than they predicted. Some people walk that same legal tightrope on every issue. Nothing is a yes-or-no question. It all depends. . . . |
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Tip 142: Cut long prefaces to your points. |
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Ever since we learned the oral book report in the school system, we have tended to start at the beginning. We catch a colleague in the hallway: "Hey, I've got a great idea; you're going to love it. First, let me give you a little background." Wrong approach. Your colleague will never understand your background until he or she has the point. Prefaces confuse and lose people. |
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Tip 143: Avoid "Speaking with Footnotes." |
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Don't let yourself get sidetracked on minor issues. My grandfather's stories rambled on in this fashion: "The other dayI guess it was Wednesdayno |
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