What Happens When You Speak Before You Think?
Speaking without thinking may have serious consequences in both your personal and professional relationships. You can wind up telling someone a secret you weren’t intended to. By complaining about someone, you can end up losing your opportunity at an excellent employment offer. Or you risk offending someone’s feelings.
Personal Relationships
Even if you don’t want to, thinking before you speak does not necessarily entail being diplomatic or courteous to the other person. In certain situations, certain things must be stated.
However, there are times when there is a better method to deliver a sentence than to just blurt it out as it comes to you. For instance, if your wife asks you if a certain dress makes her seem overweight, you might stop for a while and suggest that perhaps the other one will look better for the occasion rather than telling her outright that it does. You can avoid an argument and your wife pouting if you take a moment to consider your position before expressing it.
Another illustration is a little different but one that occurs to us frequently. Instead of telling a friend you’re seeing her because you find her to be really dull, you may take a minute to think it through and offer her a plausible explanation without making her feel guilty.
Professional Relationships
Thinking before you say is as crucial in professional interactions. If your supervisor, for instance, asks you why you left your previous job, your mind may immediately begin to consider all the wrongs you may have done to your ex-boss. But if you say them out loud, you’ll not only jeopardize your current position but also lose your boss’s respect. You must pause, consider, and concoct a plausible justification.
It is acceptable to talk falsely in such situations. You might only claim that you desired a raise or greater growth opportunities. Another illustration might be that you should use caution when conversing with your coworkers.
It is important to consider how much to expose and how much to talk. Anything that merely comes to mind cannot be spoken. Although you could believe that you have greater potential than your coworker, take a moment to reflect before speaking. Speaking your thoughts in work settings may sometimes get you into trouble!
