Always and never are two words that you should always try never to use! Hmm!

It’s true though. Imagine you say to a colleague, “You never get to work on time”. She might reply with, “Two Wednesdays ago I was 5 minutes early!” 

Another dangerous word is should, for example “You should have brought an umbrella!” That’s a bit ridiculous when you’re soaking wet already. Even when people ask for advice on what they should do, it’s more motivating to use empowering language like, “You might want to try…” or “Perhaps you can…” rather than you should.

Other words to avoid are demanding phrases like, “You have to…” and “You must…”, and negative words like can’t and don’t, which may stir up negative feelings.

Here are some magic words and phrases: Please, Unfortunately, Thank you, You’re welcome, I understand, May I? What are your thoughts? I’m sorry!

Be sensitive to how different words and phrases will sound to your listeners.