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An Uncle once told me, “Words are like seeds and the world we live in is a fertile place filled with highly sensitive people. Take care to know how you spread those seeds.” Words have great influence on people and learning to use them positively can give a boost to your relationships and solidify the workplace team.

We all have different levels of sensitivity and one might find that in most people at the workplace, it might be on a high level. We come to the office with different types of personalities and backgrounds and are expected to set all that aside for a while to work as a team to achieve the workplace goal. Therefore, learning to say the right words that would encourage and propel your colleagues towards progress and achieving a common goal can earn you a couple of good points. This should not limit your freedom of expression at the workplace, but if you can learn to chip in a couple of these cool words during conversations, you will find a couple of eyes smiling on your path.

Here are 12 phrases that should be encouraged at the workplace

1. “Let us be proactive about issues” The key word here is ‘proactive’. We have too many employees waiting to respond to a problem after it has happened. Many give the excuse of having too much to do and being unable to attend to issues that have not happened yet. We think work should not be done like that if it is about adding value. The ability to understand life’s imbalances and make the decision of controlling those imbalances, at least at the level of your work, goes a long way to show that you are an employee of distinct character and if you use this phrase at a meeting, you might not instantly win friends but you will sure have your boss smiling your way.

2. “I’ll be glad to help” The key word here is ‘help’. If you say this to a few of your colleagues at work, you’ll have the whole company on your side in a month! But you have to be wise when using this phrase since you were not hired by your boss to help every other person in the company. However, everyone needs a helping hand once in a while and when you feel you can, you should consider helping. When a colleague asks you for a favor and you are unable to do it, you can use the phrase, “I’ll love to help but…” and state the reason you are unable to help clearly and politely.

3. “I know” Especially when it is in your area of expertise or on a task assigned to you, the least you are expected to do is to know your work and what is expected of you. You cannot afford to portray diffidence or uncertainty about what you are put in charge of. The brunt of the work lies on you to familiarize yourself with what you have been called to do to the extent that you know and you are confident enough to talk about it. Not to the extent of being bossy or proud but using the phrases, “I know, I believe, I am confident” instead of “I think, I might” on what you are in charge of or what your boss trusts that you are an authority on tells us you’ve come to work to be the difference.

4. “You are welcome” This phrase communicates a lot more than you might think to the other person. It is often said, when someone says “thank you” in appreciation for a good that was done, by saying “You are welcome”, you are telling the person, “I loved doing that good and I’ll love to do it again. It was no burden to me. Let me know if there is any other thing I can do to help you with” instead of using the usual phrase of “No problem” that communicates less than what should have been and makes them wonder if the good you did was from your heart.

5. “I will” Communicating certainty at the workplace is a crucial part in getting results. If every employee in a company is uncertain about his/her job which comes as a result of the vision and mission not clearly stated, that company is heading to the ruins. Communicating certainty about job designations and the expected results shows that there is progression and that there is more to be attained. The least that employees can do is to declare with certainty what they will achieve. What will earn you points is when you go ahead to get them done.

6. “I love my job” This might not apply to all and if it does not apply to you then it is high time you get out and get into something you love doing. Don’t say you have to have this job because you’re going to lose your house or your kids have nothing to eat or your mother has cancer. Remember, business establishments are no charity organisations. They do business and they hope to have those who are passionate about their vision as employees. If there are any issues you’ll like your boss to address, document your facts and state them to your boss. It is important that you love your job and that you say this to yourself as a reminder of this fact as often as possible.

collaboration in office — Asking for help as well as volunteering is a great way to help yourself and colleagues in the work environment

7. “That is an interesting idea” There is this funny thing that happens at workplace meetings when a colleague of yours raises a new idea – something that has not been done before but sounds innovative and would probably require a lot of work. If you are an observant person, look at the faces at the meeting, some are downcast thinking about the additional work that the new idea will bring to their desk, while some faces are lighted thinking about the different possibilities of the idea raised. Simply put, that is the difference between the progressive and the retrogressive. The progressive understands that in order to keep delivering the best results, there is need for fresh ideas; the retrogressive thinks only about the work that is required to bring the idea to fruition. Even when you think otherwise, don’t ever be negative about new ideas. Say, “It is an interesting idea, how do we go about this? Can we discuss its pros and cons? Don’t cast your safety net on what has always been done. Think outside the box.

8. “What I can do is this” This phrase works better than “I can’t do…” because the minute you start saying you cannot do a thing, it will become easier for you to use it again and again. “Can” is a strong word. It communicates the ability to get things done and that is all your boss needs from you. You should always use it in its positive sense. When you feel that there is something you might not be able to do, say so politely and speak of what you have the ability to do.

9. “I recommend” You are part of a workplace team; you therefore have the blank cheque to give recommendations. Make sure your recommendations are well thought out suggestions that would add to the value of the group. If you think it is a silly idea, keep it to yourself and wait until you get to your circle of friends to share it. If it you consider it an idea of immense importance, do not attempt to downplay it by sounding humble about it. Communicate your idea boldly using the phrase “I recommend,” which implies the idea has a utility function. A great idea or recommendation is what it is. It has nothing to do with your level of humility.

10. “I have a question” Many employees merely get by by being tight-lipped. They have questions to ask about what they do but because they are scared of how their bosses might react or of the additional work load their questions might bring, they prefer to keep their questions to themselves and assume on what is to be done. Learn to approach those who can answer you with questions. By doing this, they see you as an employee who is actively thinking about how the company can do better than it is doing. You might get more work to do but you will always be at the center of things instead of at being at the sidelines where the assumption makers are.

11. “Let me think about this” There are times you have to avoid saying a “No” or a “Yes” out rightly or without thinking about an issue you have been approached about. Instead of getting your colleagues irked by such responses as “I don’t have time for this right now” or “Can’t you see that I am busy?”, You should take a deep breath, smile and tell them, “Let me think about this, I’ll get back to you on it.”

12. “You look good” Learn to give compliments and accept them also with a smile and a thank you. We all do our best to look good for the image of the company. The least we can do for ourselves is to give compliments on this.