Verbal Inflation Costs Real Money
It is easy to tell stories to ourselves and to others that exaggerate, bend, or even outright break the truth. Especially when we are under stress, especially when we are in a hurry, especially when we feel let down.
“They always drag their heels on things like this” is not the same as “They try very hard to make sure that everything goes through a review loop.” But both are stories told to me about the exact same event.
Lately I’ve caught myself telling the first story by emotional reflex rather than thinking my way through to the second, and because we are all under a lot of pressure recently, I’ve seen others doing the same thing.
Luckily enough, an article about this showed up on my desk the very day I needed it
Really? Is That True?
We’re all well acquainted with financial inflation: a fall in the value of money over time. But there’s another type of inflation that’s far less understood, much more common and infinitely more harmful. It’s verbal inflation: people’s tendency to use speech that exaggerates the size—or impact, frequency, or emotional nature—of situations and events, making them far sound worse than they are. And it’s another situation where slowing down usually provides the answer.