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What is the goal for avoiding absolutist words? I ask because I would much rather work with someone who is decisive than with someone who avoids judgements and
by jackhack 9y ago
What is the goal for avoiding absolutist words?
I ask because I would much rather work with someone who is decisive than with someone who avoids judgements and "absolutist words." I see the latter as "wishy-washy." I'm sure that says more about me than them, but I find those who always seek a middle ground to be uninspiring and low-energy.
- drb91 9y agoIn can correlate with lack of ability to think in terms of trade-offs and nuance. "Wishy-washy" seems like a proxy for a better defined characteristic, but I'm not sure what. Indecisive? Ambivalent? You tell me! It is a false dichotomy to portray communication as either absolutist or wishy-washy. You can communicate precisely and confidently without falling back on inaccurate hyperbole, which is often what absolutism is.
- tkahnoski 9y agoFear of conflict. Fear of mistakes.
- tkahnoski 9y agoReal examples "We've never done that." or "That's never a problem for us.", "In my entire career I've never done it that way". At which point there are almost always examples, but really all its doing is shutting down the conversation. These statements generally come from an emotional reaction (or gut-feel) which are fine since we are humans after all... but really do nothing to help have a rational conversation and make a smart decision. Wishy-washiness is certainly another problem, but that's a whole different topic.