How good we are at communicating can only be determined by the response. So what do we do when we have a very clear objective and message, and we are not sure of the response?
Introducing the ‘softener’.
The most obvious softeners are ‘please’ and ‘thank you’”. They are indicators of politeness and are necessary to get people to do things (and to continue doing them).
Softeners are the warm up words we say before we deliver the message we want to heard. It makes the message easier to hear.
We often use “would” or “could” to soften a request (or command): Would you mind washing the dishes? Could you take the bin out?
Here’s some great examples of softeners:
- I wonder if…?
- l’m curious…?
- I could be wrong…?
- l’m thinking…?
- Could this be an example of …?
- Perhaps…
- Maybe…
- I guess…
So, I’m curious. How can you use these to get you closer to where you want to be today?