Weak language is killing your career advancement.
Most people have no idea they're doing it daily.
You can’t afford to sound uncertain when opportunities are on the line.
Here's my 4-step RISE framework to eliminate career-limiting language:
𝟭. 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲
Track every "should," "maybe," and "probably" you use for the next 3 days.
You'll be shocked at how often you undermine yourself.
𝟮. 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲
Ask: "What fear is driving this hesitation?"
• Fear of being wrong?
• Fear of taking ownership?
• Fear of confrontation?
𝟯. 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗲
Replace weak language with ownership language:
• "I should speak up" → "𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮"
• "We should explore" → "𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲'𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴"
• "The team should focus" → "𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻"
𝟰. 𝗘𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲
Don’t just say what you’ll do—explain why it matters.
Shift from confidence to contribution.
One version hides behind wishful thinking.
The other owns the outcome.
Nobody promotes the person who “should” do things.
They promote the person who gets things done.
Try this for one week.
You’ll be surprised by who listens differently—and how you start listening to yourself.
