COMMUNICATION RULE 6
Commit or Do Not Commit—Don’t Hedge
A “No” uttered from deepest conviction is better and greater than a “Yes” merely uttered to please, or what is worse, to avoid trouble.
—Mahatma Gandhi
Warning: This chapter contains material that may not be suitable for light reading. It exposes the language of slippery communication where we hedge our bets and do not commit to an action, or we commit with no intention to follow through. Hedging language such as “I’ll try,” “You’ll have it soon,” or “Yes, but” is especially tricky because it is so common and so innocent on the surface. But this vague and imprecise language can trap you in a state of limbo where you believe you are getting a yes, when what you are really getting is a hedge. ...
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