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3 Things You Should Never Say at Work

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When it comes to getting ahead, sometimes it’s not what you say — it’s what you avoid saying that really counts. As always, it’s the little things that trip us up.

Steven Barnes at Levo League has a great list of these seemingly innocuous, but potentially career-killing misstatements. These were a few of my (least) favorites:

1. “That’s not my job.”

Everyone has worked with someone who says this, and no one has enjoyed it. While it’s perfectly appropriate to ask your boss to help you prioritize tasks or to direct a colleague to someone who can better solve their issue, it’s important to express it in a way that doesn’t sound like you’re telling your coworker that you don’t care about their problem.

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2. “Last night was so crazy.”

Never give your boss a reason to think you might be hungover, tired, or less-than-focused on the task at hand. He or she is unlikely to be impressed with your keg-stand prowess anyway. Save those stories for your friends.

3. “This might sound stupid, but…”

It might not have sounded stupid, but now that you’ve said that, it will. Don’t be your own worst frenemy.

Tell Us What You Think

We want to hear from you! What does this list leave out? Leave a comment or join the discussion on Twitter, using the hashtag #MakeItHappen.

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Jen Hubley Luckwaldt
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Tom W.
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Tom W.

I’m curious as to why Edward Z. makes mention about the management team at his company aren’t college graduates. From reading Edward’s comments, why would they have to be college graduates to manage an employee who cannot communicate effectively in the written form (as evidenced by misspelled words (“collage,” “second grad”–presumably meant to be “second grade), common grammatical error (“then” instead of “than”), and, a limited vocabulary to describe the president of the company? I would suggest that Edward Z.… Read more »

Jackie
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Jackie

What are people’s views of a manager about to brief a
Deputy on her plans for the future and opens the meeting aggressively with..,What are you smerking at? … Response-Smearking?…. Yes why are you smerking? … (This is to a 50 yr old responsible manager)

lard face
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lard face

You should not say “YOLO” either.

YOLO

Victoria Driver
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Victoria Driver

Look up the PETER PRINCIPLE

Bro
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Bro

yo

absolute NO NO
Guest
absolute NO NO

You absolutely never say “I quit” even if you intend to or do not intend to. You simply quit when you have had it enough and then after one year at your new job, you can get all that out of your system by writing a frank ridicule to your old boss.

ashish
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ashish

I wonder why its so important what we say than what we actually do. I agree we should avoid saying the things mentioned here and I am sure someone can always add some more to that list, but as long as there will be issues people may not react appropriately. Yes the problem is psychological but not of an individual but of the organization as a whole. What is required is not to change the verbal or non-verbal behaviour of… Read more »

al
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al

Ed. You’re just going to have to teach your superior how to do his job more effectively without being a condescenting ass like he may be. An MBA does not mean you’re effective at a job. What they teach you at universities is how to read. push yourself mentally and to think and problem solve. If you get out school and cannot apply yourself due to the fact that you have no motivation then you did not learn much. Maybe… Read more »

Bostjan
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Bostjan

I agree only with no 1. 1. If you have a problem working that is a problem. 2. Luckily I had many night escapades with my boss, so “Last night was so crazy.” is actually quite an appropriate response when trying to cheer him up in the morning … 3. “This might sound stupid, but…” well if the company is on the edge, somebody in the room has to make stupid questions. Usually it was something the boss would say,… Read more »

karen
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karen

Smoking is so disgusting! Never invade someone’s space with nasty halitosis breath to tell them you might be allergic to perfume. Never Never Never talk about sexual escapades at the work place.

dave
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dave

That spell “chack” is a tricky thing, isn’t it, Joe?

No Spam
Guest
No Spam

In matrix management #1 is a given … because half the time the guy handing you work doesn’t have a clue what else you’re working on, and will assume — regardless of what you say or ask in the way of prioritization — that _his_ task _will_ take _top_ priority because most of the time they’re glorified bean counters with MBAs and think everything works on the LIFO principle (Last In, First Out) popular in accounting with regard to inventory… Read more »

Joe
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Joe

Edward,

Use Spell chack if you are going to complain about the education level of your superiors.  This would be one suggestion. 

Edward Zaccari
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Edward Zaccari

The biggest problem with the corporation I work for is the management team is not truly composed of collage grads, who actually have management skills other then the road of hard knocks. Our company is purely political. In other words you have to know someone near or at the top, in order to climb the ladder. The goon we have for a president, was appointed by the mayor, to the post. In other words he’s a bean counter and second grad politician… thus he doesn’t know anything about transportation and… Read more »

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