9 Words And Phrases You're Probably Using Wrong

SKIP TO CONTENTHarvard Business Review LogoBusiness communication9 Words and Phrases You’re Probably Using Wrong

by Ross and Kathryn Petras

October 16, 2018, Updated October 16, 2018Topic Images Inc./Getty Images
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Summary.   

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Many times, especially in business settings, people use words that they think they know — but don’t. Although they do this in an effort to sound intelligent and sophisticated, it backfires badly, because even one small slip-up can cause an audience to focus on only that, not the speaker’s ideas. Sure, saying the wrong word (usually) isn’t a game-changer. But if you make that kind of mistake, it sets you up for a question that no one wants clients, coworkers, or employers to begin asking: “Are you really that smart?”

Ross and Kathryn Petras are the brother-and-sister co-authors of That Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means (Ten Speed Press, 2018), the page-a-day calendar The 365 Stupidest Things Ever SaidYou’re Saying It Wrong, and many other best-selling humor and gift books.
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