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"I Use The Same Technique Now": 37 Peeps Online Debate Smooth Phrases To Use Against Office Liars

"I Use The Same Technique Now": 37 Peeps Online Debate Smooth Phrases To Use Against Office Liars

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Former US President Calvin Coolidge was famous for his laconic language - they say that once some eccentric lady made a bet with her friend that she could get the President to talk for more than two words. All Coolidge responded to her with was allegedly: "You lost."
Most likely, Coolidge would feel extremely uncomfortable in today's corporate world, with its streamlined diplomatic wordings, weasel words, and that indescribable feeling that you've just been slung with mud, but done so incredibly elegantly. And it's precisely these features of corporate language that this selection of ours is dedicated to.
More info: Reddit

#1

"I Use The Same Technique Now": 37 Peeps Online Debate Smooth Phrases To Use Against Office Liars
Big boss where I used to work used to start emails with "help me understand..."

I use the same technique now.
24points

#2

"I Use The Same Technique Now": 37 Peeps Online Debate Smooth Phrases To Use Against Office Liars
"please see the attached email"

Attached email is one they sent 2 weeks ago saying the exact opposite s**t, in their own words.
22points

#3

"I Use The Same Technique Now": 37 Peeps Online Debate Smooth Phrases To Use Against Office Liars
"I don't believe that's accurate based on the information I have".
21points

Just a couple of days ago, a thread appeared in the AskReddit community, the author of which, the user u/Original_Giraffe_830, asked netizens the question: "How does one say 'you are lying' in a corporate way?"

To be honest, we don't know whether the topic starter really wanted to elegantly catch someone out for being untruthful, or just wanted to expand their vocabulary - but they definitely achieved their goals!

The result was over 4.2K upvotes and around a thousand comments with the best examples of corporate language of our time. So, please read and enjoy everything in our new list, carefully made for you by Bored Panda!

#4

"I Use The Same Technique Now": 37 Peeps Online Debate Smooth Phrases To Use Against Office Liars
“Don’t f*****g lie to me you weasel!”.
21points

#5

"I Use The Same Technique Now": 37 Peeps Online Debate Smooth Phrases To Use Against Office Liars
Do we have evidence / data to confirm that fact?
20points

#6

"I Use The Same Technique Now": 37 Peeps Online Debate Smooth Phrases To Use Against Office Liars
"that doesn't align with my understanding based on our SOT".
17points

No, humanity has always tried to clothe its thoughts in the most effective images, and, for example, the ancient Vikings are an excellent example of this. It's enough to remember the so-called "kennings" - conditional formulations used by them to replace this or that word. For example, "boar of waves" was "ship", "flame of the sea" stood for "gold", and "storm of swords" was actually "battle".

However, that was a thousand years ago, when any careless word could lead to a challenge to a duel - so it was way better to be fluent in your tongue than in your sword. Today, we are much less likely to run into a skilled swordsman in the office, so why do we resort to various euphemisms to point out a lie to a colleague?

#7

"I Use The Same Technique Now": 37 Peeps Online Debate Smooth Phrases To Use Against Office Liars
Point your finger at their chest and say “that’s horses**t, Frank.”.
thewiremother, chatGPT
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16points

#8

"I Use The Same Technique Now": 37 Peeps Online Debate Smooth Phrases To Use Against Office Liars
Group setting - “Hmm, I’m not confident that we’re aligned here. Let’s discuss offline.”

Private but friendly - “Hey why aren’t we on the same page?”

Private but not friendly - “I’m 100% confident that we’re not on the same page. Let’s figure out where the lapse is before this progresses.”

Private with another coworker - “I know that F*****G SKUNK is a lying piece of s**t. I’m gonna let them take this lie too far and then make them look like an a*****e.”.
13points

#9

"I Use The Same Technique Now": 37 Peeps Online Debate Smooth Phrases To Use Against Office Liars
Everyone here is wrong. The answer is:

"Yeah. Um. I'm going to sort of have to go ahead and disagree with you there...".
12points

Over the past decades, a special corporate jargon has developed in our business environment, also known as 'corpo lingo' or even 'corporatese,' which is characterized by extremely vague formulations, intentionally complicated phrases and words, and numerous euphemisms.

The thing is that even the most difficult and unpleasant situations are usually presented in a much more positive form than they actually are when reporting to management. So, this excessive office diplomacy has grown into a separate jargon over time.

As the British journalist Steven Poole characterizes it, "engineered to deflect blame, complicate simple ideas, obscure problems, and perpetuate power relations."

#10

"I Use The Same Technique Now": 37 Peeps Online Debate Smooth Phrases To Use Against Office Liars
"Hmm. My records/this article/this email thread indicate(s) that [another thing] happened. Is there something I'm overlooking here?"

That shows that you took the time to find proof, and gives the other party an opportunity to course-correct without getting defensive.
10points

#11

"I Use The Same Technique Now": 37 Peeps Online Debate Smooth Phrases To Use Against Office Liars
The information you provided does not coincide with the facts...
10points

#12

"I Use The Same Technique Now": 37 Peeps Online Debate Smooth Phrases To Use Against Office Liars
Recollections may vary.
9points

Among the examples given in this collection, there are both indisputable masterpieces of corpo lingo, which even a highly experienced linguist will not be able to understand, and wordings designed to transfer the discussion of the problem to a private meeting - and then, if you are the boss, to express everything in much simpler and more direct words.

By the way, one of the best, in my opinion, techniques from this collection is to begin accusing subordinates of lying with the words: "help me understand..." At least now, if your boss ever addresses you with such a phrase, you know what to expect. As the saying goes, "forewarned is forearmed."

#13

"I Use The Same Technique Now": 37 Peeps Online Debate Smooth Phrases To Use Against Office Liars
That opinion is unencumbered by reality.
8points

#14

"I Use The Same Technique Now": 37 Peeps Online Debate Smooth Phrases To Use Against Office Liars
In a group setting: "I'm not clear/onboard with your premise or conclusions. Let's break out when its mutually convenient and see if we can get on the same page and move forward."

In a private setting with a peer or subordinate: "I call b******t but you can convince me I'm wrong".

With a superior: "If that's your call we can run with it but I'm not following the merits". (If the relationship is healthy).
7points

#15

"I Use The Same Technique Now": 37 Peeps Online Debate Smooth Phrases To Use Against Office Liars
"i’m struggling to reconcile that with the data we have".
7points

In any case, I believe that even if you don't work in an office but are simply interested in all the rich possibilities of the English language when it comes to expressing your noble indignation at the fact that your deeply respected interlocutor was deliberately distorting information, this selection will be very interesting and useful for you.

And now I will go incredibly laconic - please feel free to read this list to the very end, and maybe add your own beautiful examples of such corpo lingo wordings in the comments below.

#16

"I Use The Same Technique Now": 37 Peeps Online Debate Smooth Phrases To Use Against Office Liars
That’s not how I understood what happened.
6points

#17

"I Use The Same Technique Now": 37 Peeps Online Debate Smooth Phrases To Use Against Office Liars
Based on what was reported, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
6points

#18

"I Use The Same Technique Now": 37 Peeps Online Debate Smooth Phrases To Use Against Office Liars
"Here is what I am seeing, am I missing something?".
6points

#19

Any sentence that begins with "We" that you didn't agree to be part of.
6points

#20

"I Use The Same Technique Now": 37 Peeps Online Debate Smooth Phrases To Use Against Office Liars
That's inconsistent with our findings.
5points
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