What Happened to "Yes" and "No"?

"Absolutely, Precisely, Exactly."

I found this article in my Linked In Drafts folder...which I started almost 15 years ago. Ok, I admit that this article is a rant--but Love in the Time of Covid-19 demands a distraction or two. Here's yours.

In 1999 these three words invaded the global business space with force. Like a virus. I became aware of the invasion as new people started at HP. I first heard The Three from a pair of ASU Supply Chain graduates--they and their school get the, uh , credit. And they used them to excess. Every question where a simple "yes" would have served, they used "Absolutely!!!" Or "Precisely!!!" or "Exactly!!!!" This latter word was usually shouted. And underlined. And highlighted. Well, as much as you can do so verbally.

The point: such a response seemed fairly adamant when a simple, "yes" would have sufficed. The words make a grating sound--like an email employing ALL CAPS with a lot of exclamation points, underscoring and text enlargement/font changes, reads. Such an answer delivers the strong scent of exaggeration.

I could be wrong, but it seems that the overly passive and somewhat therapeutic language of the 70's & 80's had been challenged in the 90's at Arizona State. Possibly, some older professors had come out of retirement with their Socratic methodologies and shouted, "Take a stand!" or "Don't mealy mouth your answers!" Perhaps such had been their classroom admonition to quavering students peeping their mouse-like answers.

If so, their students took it to heart.

Ok, 2+2 = 4 seems absolute, precise and exact, as with most math--even though there is a minority of us who will argue even that. However, not much else in business squares with these three unequivocally affirmative words.

These former students are now in upper management. And mixed in with all the other business jargon of the day are these three surviving exclamatories. Where a simple "yes" would do, these three affirmations take a sledge hammer to a fly. And that's the point of this short article: a simple "yes" carries more credibility and finality than these three words combined.

In fact, I usually question a person more closely when offered any of The Three in answer to my question. And my response usually starts like this: "Absolutely? Exactly? Are you sure?" to which they typically answer "Yes"...because you simply cannot follow up "Absolutely" with "Absolutely" or "Precisely" or "Exactly" lest you start a game of "Whose on First?"

I gently reply, "If the answer is 'yes' then say 'yes.' Ditto for 'no.'"

Of all the business jargon that has come and gone, The Three have stayed the longest. They remind me of a variation on the Dutch saying (so I'm told): "Fish and friends stink in three days; Absolutely, Precisely and Exactly in two." Let'em g--and simply say "yes" and "no" as appropriate.

Otherwise, it could lead to works such as https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/113700.Absolutely_Positively

rant/off