When used in conjunction with a behavior over which you have control, the word “try” is a wishy-washy word that only weakens the strength of a leader.

As the poster shows a car stopping at a red light, the ridiculousness of someone saying, “I’ll try and stop at that red light” is apparent. Either s/he will or s/he won’t. Look around and find a piece of a paper. Go ahead and say to yourself these words “I’m going to try and lift this piece of paper now.” You’ll feel the silliness of the statement. Either you will or you won’t.

There is no such thing as “try” when it is a behavior over which you have control. Sometimes using the word “try” is just a bad habit. A leader speaks definitively in terms of what he or she will do or not do. They encourage their followers to do nothing less. See the posters entitled Wishy Washy Words and What Do I Control? for more on this subject.

Categories: Listening

Tags: listening