Why do we start conversations with the phrase "I'm sorry for asking" or "This might sound dumb"? In a recent post that went viral on LinkedIn, angel investor Ankur Warikoo said almost 40% of the emails he receives begin with an apology. Instead of classifying our thoughts and selling ourselves short, he says to lead with the question "What do you think?" and let the other person decide. See his post below and share your thoughts in the comments.
Founder @WebVeda, Content creator @wariCrew, Speaker, Author. Eternal Optimist.
Almost 30-40% of the emails I get, start with either of the following statements: “This will sound dumb, but…” “This will come across as stupid, but…” “I am sorry for saying this, but…” It breaks my heart to see people apologizing for who they are, so much so that they start a conversation with an apology. Here’s what I think: Instead of classifying your thoughts, let the other person do it for you. Start your conversation with, “Here’s an idea. What do you think?” And if they call it dumb, then that is how they see it. That is NOT who you are! #perspective #motivation #success #warikoo
Founder @WebVeda, Content creator @wariCrew, Speaker, Author. Eternal Optimist.
Almost 30-40% of the emails I get, start with either of the following statements: “This will sound dumb, but…” “This will come across as stupid, but…” “I am sorry for saying this, but…” It breaks my heart to see people apologizing for who they are, so much so that they start a conversation with an apology. Here’s what I think: Instead of classifying your thoughts, let the other person do it for you. Start your conversation with, “Here’s an idea. What do you think?” And if they call it dumb, then that is how they see it. That is NOT who you are! #perspective #motivation #success #warikoo
Founder @WebVeda, Content creator @wariCrew, Speaker, Author. Eternal Optimist.
Almost 30-40% of the emails I get, start with either of the following statements: “This will sound dumb, but…” “This will come across as stupid, but…” “I am sorry for saying this, but…” It breaks my heart to see people apologizing for who they are, so much so that they start a conversation with an apology. Here’s what I think: Instead of classifying your thoughts, let the other person do it for you. Start your conversation with, “Here’s an idea. What do you think?” And if they call it dumb, then that is how they see it. That is NOT who you are! #perspective #motivation #success #warikoo
Completely agree with you Ankur Warikoo . We see a lot of people undermining or under selling themselves. I feel one should be confident on one's ideas and vision no matter how he/she might think it may sound or be perceived by the recipient. The onus of clarity and confidence of thought lies with the speaker and not the recipient of the same. No need to apologize for your thoughts or ideas. My 2 cents.
Atreyee Roy评论了
Founder @WebVeda, Content creator @wariCrew, Speaker, Author. Eternal Optimist.
Almost 30-40% of the emails I get, start with either of the following statements: “This will sound dumb, but…” “This will come across as stupid, but…” “I am sorry for saying this, but…” It breaks my heart to see people apologizing for who they are, so much so that they start a conversation with an apology. Here’s what I think: Instead of classifying your thoughts, let the other person do it for you. Start your conversation with, “Here’s an idea. What do you think?” And if they call it dumb, then that is how they see it. That is NOT who you are! #perspective #motivation #success #warikoo
Ankur Warikoo this is such a hard hitting message. The fear of rejection is so great that it riddles people's self confidence and self belief with holes of doubt and insecurity. These sentences very clearly show the lack of belief in themselves. If you don't believe in yourself, you certainly can't hope that others will.
Founder @WebVeda, Content creator @wariCrew, Speaker, Author. Eternal Optimist.
Almost 30-40% of the emails I get, start with either of the following statements: “This will sound dumb, but…” “This will come across as stupid, but…” “I am sorry for saying this, but…” It breaks my heart to see people apologizing for who they are, so much so that they start a conversation with an apology. Here’s what I think: Instead of classifying your thoughts, let the other person do it for you. Start your conversation with, “Here’s an idea. What do you think?” And if they call it dumb, then that is how they see it. That is NOT who you are! #perspective #motivation #success #warikoo
The goal always isn't for clickbait, it has to be even for the value when you dig in. If you don't believe in your statement then how can you expect the reader to believe it? ??
Founder @WebVeda, Content creator @wariCrew, Speaker, Author. Eternal Optimist.
Almost 30-40% of the emails I get, start with either of the following statements: “This will sound dumb, but…” “This will come across as stupid, but…” “I am sorry for saying this, but…” It breaks my heart to see people apologizing for who they are, so much so that they start a conversation with an apology. Here’s what I think: Instead of classifying your thoughts, let the other person do it for you. Start your conversation with, “Here’s an idea. What do you think?” And if they call it dumb, then that is how they see it. That is NOT who you are! #perspective #motivation #success #warikoo
Starting any converstaion with a positive note, makes the brain recognise it better. Brain will always remember a positive thought.
Founder @WebVeda, Content creator @wariCrew, Speaker, Author. Eternal Optimist.
Almost 30-40% of the emails I get, start with either of the following statements: “This will sound dumb, but…” “This will come across as stupid, but…” “I am sorry for saying this, but…” It breaks my heart to see people apologizing for who they are, so much so that they start a conversation with an apology. Here’s what I think: Instead of classifying your thoughts, let the other person do it for you. Start your conversation with, “Here’s an idea. What do you think?” And if they call it dumb, then that is how they see it. That is NOT who you are! #perspective #motivation #success #warikoo
Perfectly said Ankur! Often times, we undervalue our self worth and that of the ideas we put forward. If we ourselves are not confident about our opinion, how do we expect our audience to believe in it…
Founder @WebVeda, Content creator @wariCrew, Speaker, Author. Eternal Optimist.
Almost 30-40% of the emails I get, start with either of the following statements: “This will sound dumb, but…” “This will come across as stupid, but…” “I am sorry for saying this, but…” It breaks my heart to see people apologizing for who they are, so much so that they start a conversation with an apology. Here’s what I think: Instead of classifying your thoughts, let the other person do it for you. Start your conversation with, “Here’s an idea. What do you think?” And if they call it dumb, then that is how they see it. That is NOT who you are! #perspective #motivation #success #warikoo
Such statements probably come due to the fear of rejection or being termed as inadequate.. & hence they apologize beforehand without even understanding how people/colleagues would welcome their suggestions. I completely agree the choice of words should change for good, which shows how confident one is while putting forth their point
Founder @WebVeda, Content creator @wariCrew, Speaker, Author. Eternal Optimist.
Almost 30-40% of the emails I get, start with either of the following statements: “This will sound dumb, but…” “This will come across as stupid, but…” “I am sorry for saying this, but…” It breaks my heart to see people apologizing for who they are, so much so that they start a conversation with an apology. Here’s what I think: Instead of classifying your thoughts, let the other person do it for you. Start your conversation with, “Here’s an idea. What do you think?” And if they call it dumb, then that is how they see it. That is NOT who you are! #perspective #motivation #success #warikoo
Only when we write such openers, people tend to open and read what's in there. It's purely done to arouse curiosity among the readers. I think this is nothing to do with the person himself feeling sorry or something like that. A simple marketing gimmick Ankur Nowadays readers got used to those sentences. Time to find new set of openers??
Co-Founder @TransforMe | Executive Coach | Leadership Transformation
I completely agree! Ankur Warikoo Criticism is not something that should define us. It should serve our highest good. Even people who are experts in their ?elds are sometimes wrong. It is up to us to choose whether to believe some of it, none of it, or all of it. What we think of ourselves is what counts.