Did you ever hear a positive statement, that was followed by “but…”?
Did that statement stay positive for you or did it undo all positive that was mentioned before?
I get it… Those “buts” help to connect words into understandable sentences, such as:
- I really like to have a drink with you, but I have to pick up the kids.
- I enjoyed our meeting during lunch, but the food was average.
- I want to finish this project, but I have a ton of other things to do.
Replace your ‘but’ with ‘and’ and discover what emerges
What if we use another word to connect these words? Let’s try the word “and” to see what happens…
- I really like to have a drink with you, and I have to pick up the kids.
- I enjoyed our meeting during lunch, and the food was average.
- I want to finish this project, and I have a ton of other things to do.
Do you hear it as well?
When reading these 3 sentences again, it sounds totally different than before! Although the words are still connected, the message tone has changed instantly. Sometimes the slightest adjustment in our communication can transform a whole message, either positive or negative.
So what is my take-away of this going forward?
I am already conscious of using the word “and” and I can do better at it (you see, I’m already putting it into practice :D).
I am going to call on my friends and family to ensure that I don’t slip up on using ‘and’. This will help me to stay conscious on the words that I am using and the message that I am conveying.
When was the last time you replaced ‘but’ with ‘and’?
Photo by Zhen Hu on Unsplash
Did you ever hear a positive statement, that was followed by “but…”?
Did that statement stay positive for you or did it undo all positive that was mentioned before?
I get it… Those “buts” help to connect words into understandable sentences, such as:
- I really like to have a drink with you, but I have to pick up the kids.
- I enjoyed our meeting during lunch, but the food was average.
- I want to finish this project, but I have a ton of other things to do.
Replace your ‘but’ with ‘and’ and discover what emerges
What if we use another word to connect these words? Let’s try the word “and” to see what happens…
- I really like to have a drink with you, and I have to pick up the kids.
- I enjoyed our meeting during lunch, and the food was average.
- I want to finish this project, and I have a ton of other things to do.
Do you hear it as well?
When reading these 3 sentences again, it sounds totally different than before! Although the words are still connected, the message tone has changed instantly. Sometimes the slightest adjustment in our communication can transform a whole message, either positive or negative.
So what is my take-away of this going forward?
I am already conscious of using the word “and” and I can do better at it (you see, I’m already putting it into practice :D).
I am going to call on my friends and family to ensure that I don’t slip up on using ‘and’. This will help me to stay conscious on the words that I am using and the message that I am conveying.
When was the last time you replaced ‘but’ with ‘and’?
Photo by Zhen Hu on Unsplash
