Tricky words - part 2

Can you remember back as far as your early school days? Can you recall a teacher telling you to 'try' and form that letter or do that sum. This blog post is about that tricky word 'try'.

Allow me to create a scene for you; it's a work environment, an office that could be almost anywhere. There are bosses and supervisors a hierarchy common to companies all over the world.

In this scenario a supervisor walks up to Bill, a long time serving office worker and says "Bill I'd look you to do the consolidated shipping report this week."

Bill knows that this is the job everyone in the office hates. The consolidated shipping reported is pulled from multiple paper systems, it is prone to errors and never easy to do. Bill is now wary of what's coming next.

The Supervisor says "Bill, I have great faith in your skills and I'd like you to have that report completed by 9am tomorrow".

Bill thinks "Great! A compliment about my skills followed by an impossible deadline. Just great!"

But what Bill says is something different "Harry, you know that report is a nightmare to prepare. " Bill is setting up the 'try' defence he will use tomorrow when the report is not done. Bill continues "I'll TRY and get it done by 9am."

Harry the Supervisor is satisfied that he has given charge of the task to Bill.

The truth is at this point Bill has no intention of getting the report done by 9am and has already provided a reason ("nightmare to prepare") why it won't be done.

Sure enough the following day when Harry the Supervisor goes to Bill at 9am expecting the report to be finished, Bill is only half way through.

Harry is unhappy about the lack of progress but he has to deal with Bill's response "Hey, I said I'd TRY and get it done. Not that I would guarantee it!"

That type of situation gets played out in offices across the world every day.There are several dynamics in there but the part I would like to focus on is the word TRY.

Try carries with it an implicit notion of failure. If I say I'll TRY to do something then there is a good probability that I won't do it. When we use the try, it frequently  implies that the task WILL fail.

Can you see how poor a word choice this is in a teaching context.

Can you begin to understand that in the context of the pep talks that you give yourself, the word try sets you up for a failure every single time.

So with that in mind the next time you feel tempted to use the word try, substitute a different word or phrase.

Some alternatives:
I will do that!
I won't do that!
I'll do it but I'm not sure how well it will turn out
I'll do it but I'll need an extra day(s) to get it to you

Stop trying simply do or don't do  In the words of Yoda from Star Wars "Do or do not there is no try"