![A collection of identical bolts A collection of identical bolts](../images/bolts.png)
A collection of identical bolts. Bolts are manufactured by machine. After acquiring a working bolt-making machine, you can produce bolts at a prodigious rate. So it is with formulaic utterances. Once you have committed a formulaic utterance to memory, the effort required to use it is minimal. While speaking a formulaic utterance, you can speak fluently while composing your next comments. If the utterance is well chosen, listeners will be unaware of how little mental effort you're expending while speaking the utterance. Image by antmoreton.
Much of what we say at work is formulaic, in that we follow prescribed patterns that repeat in many contexts. Some of these utterances function almost as if they were single words. We think of them that way, and we use them that way. For example, "That having been said" usually means the same thing as "But." Or, "The sad truth is…" usually means the same thing as "Unfortunately…".
Some formulaic utterances confer on their users elevated social status that might otherwise be difficult to attain. But I'll get to that in a minute, after I briefly explore two risks of using these forms.
Risks of using formulaic utterances
The more significant risk is that using formulaic utterances as if they were single words — or single linguistic chunks — can tangle our grammar and confuse the message. And when that happens, the benefit you were seeking by using a formulaic utterance might not become available.
This "single-word-ness" of formulaic utterances might account to some extent for the common occurrence of the "double is" as in, "The reality is is that we just don't know everything we need to know to make this project a success." The speaker of that sentence regards the first three words, "The reality is," as a unit, meaning "The reality." So the "is" gets doubled.
A second risk arises from overuse. When the utterance becomes so popular that it loses its punch, it becomes trite. Users seem to be following the crowd. That's one form of overuse. A second form of overuse relates to use by the speaker. A speaker who repeatedly uses the same utterance can seem stuck, addicted to that utterance, especially if its use is inappropriate for its context.
These risks are real. Double-is and other tangles can happen. Formulaic utterances are overused. Take care when adopting formulaic language as a part of your repertoire.
The benefits of formulaic utterances
Using formulaic Some formulaic utterances confer on their
users elevated social status that might
otherwise be difficult to attainlanguage does confer benefits, though the beneficiary is usually the speaker, rather than the listener, and certainly not the group. Perhaps most often cited is the benefit of creating a perception of fluency. Using formulaic utterances, speakers can mark time while formulating thoughts or wording for the rest of their contributions. This ploy can create a perception of mastery of form and substance that might exceed the reality.
For example, speaking the word "but" takes less than a second. But a speaker adept in using formulaic utterances can stretch any of the following formulaic utterances to two or three seconds:
- That having been said
- That said
- That being said
- Having said that
These particular formulaic utterances offer an additional advantage. Because they are technically clauses, and not sentences, the speaker can pause after saying them without risk of losing "the floor." That is, people are somewhat less likely to interrupt or seize the floor at the end of a clause, than they are to do so at the end of a sentence. Using this shield against interruption, speakers can gain even more time to compose their next thoughts.
Gaining time for composition is just one advantage formulaic utterances offer to speakers. Because formulaic utterances are formulaic, using them presents very little cognitive load — mental effort — to speakers. While reciting formulaic utterances speakers are, in effect, in automatic mode. So the time gained by using formulaic utterances isn't just time. It's quality time. It's time the speaker can use to think ahead. Thus, the longer the formulaic utterance, the greater the advantage to the speaker.
Another advantage arises not from any clock-related attributes of the formulaic utterance, but from its social value. Most formulaic utterances are familiar to speaker and listener. That familiarity is the source of the formulaic utterance's social value. We're accustomed to hearing respected figures such as politicians, experts, and other professionals utter phrases like these:
- I will tell you that
- That's true to a point
- With all due respect
- It's important to note that
When speakers use these formulaic utterances, they associate themselves with those respected figures. More important, the people listening to the speaker also make that association. Using these formulaic utterances transmits an unspoken message that the speaker is as important and credible as those respected figures.
The catalog of formulaic utterances that have this property is enormous. Here is a partial list:
- That having been said, That said, That being said, Having said that
- The reality is
- The truth is
- The sad truth is
- To be /perfectly honest/candid/
- Quite frankly
- On the ground
- Reality on the ground
- First of all, firstly, and other constructions for higher numbers (2, 3 …)
- The first thing /I should say/I'd like to say/ is
- Let me start by /saying/noting/observing/ that
- Absolutely
- I'll get back to you
- Another point I should mention is
- I might point out that
- We /should note/point out/ that
- What's important to remember is
- The last thing I'll say is
- That's an /interesting/tricky/good/great/fascinating/ question
- Hmm, that's a tough one
- I've never really thought about that before, but I'd say
- That's a difficult question but I'll try to answer it as best I can
- Yes, that occurred to me as I was listening to your comments
- Where /should/shall/ /I/we/ start?
- What we /know/don't know/ is
- Thank you so much
- I appreciate that
- That /would be/really is/ a game changer
- Going forward
- At this point
- Let's touch base on this
- We aren't there yet
- That would be pushing the envelope
- Getting too granular
- Drilling down
- Ramping up
- It must be said that
- They have a lot on their plate
I'm not advocating use of formulaic utterances. Rather, I'm pointing out that the people who use them skillfully do gain advantages that might otherwise be unavailable to them based only on the worth of what they have to say. If the rest of us are aware of these techniques, we have a better chance of evaluating all contributions solely on their merits. First issue in this series
Top
Next Issue
Is every other day a tense, anxious, angry misery as you watch people around you, who couldn't even think their way through a game of Jacks, win at workplace politics and steal the credit and glory for just about everyone's best work including yours? Read 303 Secrets of Workplace Politics, filled with tips and techniques for succeeding in workplace politics. More info
Your comments are welcome
Would you like to see your comments posted here? rbrendPtoGuFOkTSMQOzxner@ChacEgGqaylUnkmwIkkwoCanyon.comSend me your comments by email, or by Web form.About Point Lookout
Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it and
found it useful, and that you'll consider recommending it to a friend.
This article in its entirety was written by a human being. No machine intelligence was involved in any way.
Point Lookout is a free weekly email newsletter. Browse the archive of past issues. Subscribe for free.
Support Point Lookout by joining the Friends of Point Lookout, as an individual or as an organization.
Do you face a complex interpersonal situation? Send it in, anonymously if you like, and I'll give you my two cents.
Related articles
More articles on Effective Communication at Work:
Can You Hear Me Now?
- Not feeling heard can feel like an attack, even when there was no attack, and then conversation can
quickly turn to war. Here are some tips for hearing your conversation partner and for conveying the
message that you actually did hear.
Dismissive Gestures: II
- In the modern organization, since direct verbal insults are considered "over the line," we've
developed a variety of alternatives, including a class I call "dismissive gestures." They
hurt personally, and they harm the effectiveness of the organization. Here's Part II of a little catalog
of dismissive gestures.
The Limits of Status Reports: II
- We aren't completely free to specify the content or frequency of status reports from the people who
write them. There are limits on both. Here's Part II of an exploration of those limits.
Conversation Despots
- Some people insist that conversations reach their personally favored conclusions, no matter what others
want. Here are some of their tactics.
What Is Hypophora?
- Hypophora is a rhetorical device that enables its users to deliver simple messages with enhanced power.
But it has a dark side. The people who read or hear those messages tend to assess them as having more
merit than they do.
See also Effective Communication at Work and Effective Meetings for more related articles.
Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout
Coming July 3: Additive bias…or Not: II
- Additive bias is a cognitive bias that many believe contributes to bloat of commercial products. When we change products to make them more capable, additive bias might not play a role, because economic considerations sometimes favor additive approaches. Available here and by RSS on July 3.
And on July 10: On Delegating Accountability: I
- As the saying goes, "You can't delegate your own accountability." Despite wide knowledge of this aphorism, people try it from time to time, especially when overcome by the temptation of a high-risk decision. What can you delegate, and how can you do it? Available here and by RSS on July 10.
Coaching services
I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrendPtoGuFOkTSMQOzxner@ChacEgGqaylUnkmwIkkwoCanyon.com or (650) 787-6475, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.
Get the ebook!
Past issues of Point Lookout are available in six ebooks:
- Get 2001-2 in Geese Don't Land on Twigs (PDF, )
- Get 2003-4 in Why Dogs Wag (PDF, )
- Get 2005-6 in Loopy Things We Do (PDF, )
- Get 2007-8 in Things We Believe That Maybe Aren't So True (PDF, )
- Get 2009-10 in The Questions Not Asked (PDF, )
- Get all of the first twelve years (2001-2012) in The Collected Issues of Point Lookout (PDF, )
Are you a writer, editor or publisher on deadline? Are you looking for an article that will get people talking and get compliments flying your way? You can have 500-1000 words in your inbox in one hour. License any article from this Web site. More info
Follow Rick
![Send email or subscribe to one of my newsletters](../images/social-icons/email-32.png)
![Follow me at LinkedIn](../images/social-icons/linkedin-reg-32.png)
![Follow me at X, or share a post](../images/social-icons/x-32.png)
![Subscribe to RSS feeds](../images/social-icons/feed-icon-32.png)
![Subscribe to RSS feeds](../images/social-icons/facebook-icon-32.png)
Recommend this issue to a friend
Send an email message to a friend
rbrendPtoGuFOkTSMQOzxner@ChacEgGqaylUnkmwIkkwoCanyon.comSend a message to Rick
A Tip A Day feed
Point Lookout weekly feed
![Technical Debt for Policymakers Blog](../images/logos/techdebtpolicy-logo-sm-1.png)