Speak the truth, because you can’t evade the radar

Posted by on May 30, 2017

communication

Did you know that you come fully equipped with your own radar? Each of your co-workers has one too. So do your customers.

Some people call it intuition. Others call it a gut feeling.

It detects things as they really are, alerting people whenever someone is giving them an incomplete or inaccurate version of the truth.

This internal radar is rarely fooled, so please take note:

If you’re planning to do some verbal gymnastics during your next team meeting to hide the fact that you’re late with an assignment, think twice. People will sense that you’re not playing straight.

If a co-worker asks for your feedback after doing an awful job, resist the urge to issue a fake “just fine.” Over time, false compliments get discovered, and your words will lose all weight. You can be candid and kind when giving feedback. If you don’t think you can, then bounce back the question and ask the asker how they think they did.

If you’re approaching a busy colleague to recruit them for your project team, and you’re tempted to downplay the amount of work that’s likely to be involved, don’t do it. Your would-be team member will pick up on it.

This radar is wired into us. Back in cave-dwelling days, people faced danger at every turn, so they had to assess, interpret, and respond all the time. Those who were best at this ended up living longer, sending an ever-stronger intuition up the generational line – all the way to us.

Think about your own internal radar. When someone tries to slide something past you, you usually catch on quickly, right?

Yes you do – and the same goes for just about everyone else.

Keep that in mind the next time you’re tempted to slip your message beneath the radar.

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By Tom TerezContact