KO#13
Welcome to the 13th issue of the Knockout Your Sunday Scaries Newsletter, an every-other-week newsletter by me, Kristy Olinger, with a focus on workplace communication and self-development. I’m glad you’re here. Was this forwarded to you? Get yours: Subscribe here
Sunday, June 30th, 2024
Hi there,
Words matter. How we talk about something, the specific words we use, influence how we feel about it. It’s no wonder that corporate America has negative associations for many given the violence in the language that we use at work. Work isn’t war, yet so many of the metaphors used in everyday speech relate to guns, war, and violence. Once you notice it… you’ll begin to hear it everywhere. Below find 10 common violent workisms and alternate wording to try.
TAKE A STAB AT IT —> GIVE IT A TRY
PULL THE TRIGGER —> DECIDE or MOVE FORWARD WITH
WAR ROOM —> WIN ROOM
BEAT A DEAD HORSE —> WASTE EFFORT ON SOMETHING USELESS.
[People are] KILLING THEMSELVES —> EXHAUSTING THEMSELVES
THROW SOMEONE UNDER THE BUS —> BLAME SOMEONE ELSE TO AVOID BEING BLAMED
TAKE A SHOT IN THE DARK —> TAKE A GUESS
SHOOT ME NOW —> THIS IS THE LAST THING I WANT TO DO
BLOWN AWAY —> REALLY IMPRESSED
BLOW UP —> CHANGE ENTIRELY
Using more positive language, or at least not using so much violent language, can lead to more positive associations with work. That sounds like an antidote to the Sunday Scaries.
Hit reply and say ‘hi’ - wether you’re an OG subscriber or just stumbled across this, I would love to hear from you. What do YOU want from a newsletter like this? How can I help you banish your Sunday scaries? Let me know.
📚 What I’m reading:
Blogs on puppy training. Spam me with any you’d recommend.
CONTENT ROUND UP (from some other great creators)
It’s been an exciting two weeks. We adopted a 4mo old puppy that we named Honey. She is a sweetie and also a handful. This means for the first time since this newsletter started, I have no new content to include in the content round up AND no new book that I’m reading (unless you count puppy training books). There is no shortage of amazing creators out there, so I’m linking below some helpful content and I hope it leads to you discovering/following people that you didn’t know before. ♥️
How to Respond to Undermining Comments - VIDEO from @30dayleader
If one of the reasons you follow me is for scripts, you may want to follow Katie Vogel @30dayleader. In this video she provides 3 different scripts you could try if you are being undermined at work.
Speaking on the Spot with the PREP framework - VIDEO from @prestonchinspeaks
Having a framework to follow for impromptu speaking is one of the ways to improve the clarity of your message. Frameworks prevent you from rambling and help listeners to more easily follow what you’re saying. PREP is a popular framework and this video does an excellent job describing it.
How to Effectively Plan and Communicate PTO - BLOGPOST from @careercivility
Jenna is your expert for all things email. Besides having the best Instagram handle ever (we need career civility!) she offers a ton of email tips and scripts both on Instagram and her blog. This piece on communicating PTO feels particularly timely.
You made it to the end! Congrats & thanks. ❤️ Have a great two weeks.
Stay Curious,
Kristy
P.S. Sharing below a picture of Honey ❤️ scroll to the very bottom to see. Also, send me your puppy training tips!
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