Opinions Don’t Help

If you want to help others to take you seriously and would like to move a discussion forward rather than getting bogged down in an endless loop of talking, consider removing the words “in my opinion” from your vocabulary.

Phrases like “in my opinion,” or “I think” or “I believe,” suggest a statement that is not based on facts, but instead is based on a feeling. You know what? Decisions don’t get made based on feelings (or at least, GOOD decisions don’t). Your decisions should be grounded in your analysis of facts, not just on opinions, which may not have any basis in reality at all.

Let’s face it, there are too many opinions and not enough facts being thrown around in public discussions these days, and you don’t need to incorporate that attitude into your organization’s decisionmaking. When you hear people say “I don’t believe climate change is real” or “I think climate change is real,” guess what? Mother Nature doesn’t care what you believe or think; climate change is either real or it isn’t, and an analysis of data, rather than just a gut feeling, should lead you to a conclusion.

The same is true when you make business decisions. If you want your business to succeed, you need to make decisions based on reality, not just on a guess. Look at marketing surveys before deciding on product changes. Consider the employment statistics in your area before making decisions about salaries and hiring. Review different vendors’ proposals before selecting one. You know what? Now you’re not offering uninformed opinions; instead, you’re offering analysis and evaluation, and those are very different.

You may not have all the facts about a question — in most cases, you probably won’t — but at least look at and try to understand the facts to which you do have access. Once you do, drop the phrase “in my opinion” from your conversation. It’s a small vocabulary change that can have a big impact on your listener’s confidence in what you’re saying.