I believe you might have missed the passive aggressive nature of my post. Or you just felt like quoting a sarcastic statement as if it was sincere was a good way to interact.
I’m not of the opinion that the original list is particularly useful. But for several of these, the first two in particular, the supposed passive aggressive version is to use them as full sentences.
Hmmm I just had an encounter at work the other day, where a new employee was in a status virtually that we are not to use…I told them, in what I thought was friendly terms (I didn’t use “friendly reminder” tho) and the response I got back was simply “Noted.”
Later I “noted” that problem status remained.
Which irritated the fuck out of me. So for me, it was combination of “noted” and then doing whatever they wanted to anyway.
Did you try just not being irritated? Some people here seem to think that’s the proper approach.
I mean, it’s just Management 101. If your staff is bothered by something, simply tell them to stop being bothered. I’m sure they’ll love working for you.
But would you ever talk that way? If you would never say that to someone in person, why would you go out of your way to do corporate speak in an email.
I know people who pepper their emails with Serious Business Phrases, and in their case it’s “Because that’s how I’ve always done it.” and “I want to sound ‘professional’, in hopes of climbing the mid-managerial ladder.”
Sorry, I did some corporate writing and had “Write the way you would talk to someone in person” drilled into my head.
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edit: Just looked at ftg’s list upthread, and the Handy Hint™ I learned would keep people from using a lot of “corporate catchphrases”.
I mean, you bump into a friend on the street, would you start off with “Please advise:” or “Circling back…” or “Noted.”?
Well for one thing, a “please advise” in this example shows that you need this information in the course of your office manager or payroll duties, and not just as an item of small talk.
I could do more, but those weren’t my examples and I’m only really interested in defending the use of “please advise”.
I once had a client who was in conservative politics and played an active role in the planning and execution of the 2nd Iraq War.
At one point, they were being excessively demanding regarding some product delays and other things, so I made a point of working the phrase “Mission Accomplished” into a couple of emails. It became our in-house nickname for the client. Now, THAT was passive aggressive.
Client later became a big anti-Trumper, and all was forgiven.
My emails tend to be calibrated toward assertiveness. If I want /need action on something, I will ask nicely, but it will be worded clearly.
“Friendly reminder” doesn’t work for me, at all. I just say “reminder…” What happens if we ignore the “friendly” reminder? Will the emailer reveal their true, evil self and become unfriendly?
I strive to avoid BS, corporate speak as much as I can. While there’s a whole other thread or two devoted to this, let me say I can’t stand the phrases “going forward” or “drill down.” >shudder<
I don’t see much if anything wrong with those expressions. Have had nearly all used on me plus I’ve used them myself. A little silly making anything out of them.
A lot of office phrases are overused or attempts to make one sound more diplomatic or smarter than is the case. Although any phrase can be said in an aggressive tone or meant maliciously, I don’t see much that is necessarily aggressive about most of the phrases people have mentioned. I don’t love the phrase “no problem” but it tends to be meant in a fairly benign way. I would not spend too much time overthinking these.
