Bull shit. Beating around the bush. White lies. Etc etc. Not a fan. In some cases using euphemisms/beating around the bush can spare feelings and it’s just plain courteous. Except the power of honesty connects people and over the past few months I’ve decided formalities are a load of crap.
Blunt honesty as a pitching tool
I’m going to use a PR example, but this applies to anyone: you’re pitching a story and have the perfect spin, a great contact and basically everything’s great. I’ve mentioned this before, but unless the pitch is personalized, you’re probably not going to get anywhere. Journalists (and people as a whole) can smell out a cut-and-paste job from a mile away. HOWEVER, I’ve had a good amount of success when pitching (myself, products, or otherwise) when I acknowledge I’m taking up valuable time and can honestly promote product x.
Again, this applies to everything. Another example? Job interviews. I can’t speak for HR because I don’t know the logistics, but personally, I’d rather interview someone who gives an honest, detailed answer instead of something like “I’m a hard working self starter.” Ummm, barf?
A few months ago I heard a story about a guy who was applying for a government job. Like most gigs at that level, they do a drug test. The hair one – basically meaning you’re screwed if you’ve ever smoked pot in your life. Before taking the test said guy told his new boss that he smoked a little in college… but hadn’t since. Despite his honestly, the kid was denied the job. Why? First of all, don’t get me started on pot, but they could have tested his urine to make sure it wasn’t recent! Before taking the test he owned up! He was honest! What’s the damn problem?
Granted, the drug thing is obviously controversial, but I feel this is the case with a lot of issues. We’re often punished for being honest or overly friendly. Reread that. Overly friendly. Last summer I had a boss tell me (nicely) that when I started applying for “real jobs” I should consider making my emails less casual. I understand it’s a sign of respect to use Mr. or Ms. instead of a stranger’s first name, but everything else is a little extreme. Here are two examples:
Dear Mr. Smith, I am writing to apply for the Assistant Manager position advertised on Yahoo! jobs. As requested, I am enclosing a completed job application, my resume and a reference.
vs.
Dear Mr. Smith, I was so excited when I saw your advertisement on Yahoo for the Assistant Manager opening! My experience matches perfectly with what you’re looking for and I’d love to come in for an interview.
Neither is the perfect opening to a cover letter but do you catch my drift? I’d so rather see passion and drive and obvious – honest - desire for a position than a cookie-cutter formality that my dog could write (my dog runs into walls on a regular basis by the way). Also, because tone is hard to grasp in writing, I’m a big fan of exclamation points. Example:
My schedule opens up next week. Let’s plan for lunch on the 2nd. Looking forward to meeting you.
vs.
My schedule opens up next week. Let’s plan for lunch on the 2nd. Looking forward to meeting you!
Enthusiasm = Believability
Maybe it’s just me, but I’m more likely to believe a statement with a little more enthusiasm. And before you say it’s juvenile and/or unprofessional, your career – and life – kind of revolve around networking. How the hell are you going to make any friends if you can’t muster up the excitement and (ahem) personality that convinces your contact you enjoy their company? You can’t, that’s how.
So maybe before you change all your “can’t”s to “cannot”s, remove the smiley faces and exclamation points from your business emails and add in the bull shit, think about who you would be more likely to respond to. And yes, I ended that sentence with a preposition.
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