Not Speaking the Truth by being overly polite.
The other day I was asking an opinion on a possible cover for my new workbook I was working on. The person of course said, “Oh, yes that’s nice”. So what does nice mean? They do like it, they don’t like it, it doesn’t mean anything to them? Or, perhaps I’m asking the wrong person and they felt trapped so they just said the “it’s nice” phrase.
I know they were not speaking the truth. The truth was that they really didn’t care and did not want to make a decision that would effect me. They truly were not interested in stating an opinion on some thing that should not even concern them.
OK, I get it. I was wanting quick gratification of confirmation that I did a great job. I really didn’t think this through. The next time when I need clear clean criticism on a project, selecting the right person will make all the difference in the world on quality assurance. And, I will not be putting someone who really does not need to affirm my work in a position where they use the old stand by, “Oh yes, that’s nice”, to be polite without having to tell me the truth.
