ajcjobs > BlogBreak > Archives > 2007 > May > 14 > Entry
How are you doing?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ve been noticing recently how carelessly we Georgians abuse the English language. I’m not referring to Southern accents, as I have one myself. Everyone has some kind of accent. I’m talking about the over-use of common phrases or annoying techno-jargon that has crept into our daily speech.
Most egregious in my mind, is the phrase, “How are you?” Rarely do people say “Hello!” without saying “How are you?” Almost as bad is the bland, automatic response of “Fine,” or the grammatically incorrect response of “Good.”
I can’t count the number of business calls I’ve received where the caller will say, “Hi. How are you?” and will then proceed to launch immediately into a two minute explanation of why they’re calling, without the slightest pause for me respond to their question.
These callers might just as well pick up the phone and say, “Hi, I’m going to ask you how you’re doing because somehow I think I’m supposed to. But I don’t really care how you’re doing. So, I’m just going to move on and tell you why I’m calling, because really, this conversation is all about me anyway.” The effect is exactly the same.
In business communication, it is off-putting to the person to whom you’re speaking, to ask such a question without listening to their response. Your attempt at politeness by asking how someone is doing has backfired on you, and you now seem rude.
Additionally, when someone asks you how you are doing, the correct answer is not “I’m doing good.” Grammatically, to say that you are doing “good” implies that you are doing good things, like feeding the hungry, saving baby kittens and recycling.
You may, in fact, be doing good things, but the proper and grammatically correct answer to this question is, “I’m doing well, thank you.” The word “well” describes how you’re doing and indicates that things in your life are satisfactory.
In reality, when you’re calling a stranger, it is quite presumptuous to ask how they’re doing. It’s too familiar. You can safely assume that if the person doesn’t know you, they’re probably not interested in sharing with you how they’re doing. If you must say something besides “Hello,” a simple “Good Afternoon,” will suffice.
Over-using the question, “How are you?” is not only annoying; it can be interpreted as rude. Certainly, this is only one example of over-used phrases and business jargon that pollutes the English language today. So, next time someone asks “How are you?” and you actually have the chance to respond, don’t say, “I’m doing good, but I’ve got my plate too full and I’m going to have to circle back to run some new ideas up the flagpole, to get my manager’s buy-in on hiring an assistant.”
Are there other words and phrases common in business communication that annoy you?
Which ones are the worst offenders?
Permalink | |
