How to understand 'American-speak'

Bryce Sanders, president of Perceptive Business Solutions, reveals the real meaning behind phrases you might hear when doing business with Americans.

“Two nations separated by a common language” is an expression attributed to George Bernard Shaw. Many people want to avoid confrontation or giving offence. In the American South the expression: “Bless your heart” sounds complimentary. However, the website www.urbandictionary.com provides several definitions including “to express to someone they are an idiot without saying such harsh words.”

It is unlikely people you meet in the New York financial district will insert “Bless your heart” in conversations.

Here are some other useful expressions:

• That’s not going to happen – another way of saying “this is a non-negotiable point” or “Over my dead body.” The other person disagrees with you.
• It is what it is – we need to accept the situation, we can’t change it. In September 1988 Bobby McFerrin came out with the song: “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” People at that time used that expression to describe similar situations.
• What have you got? – often used in business situations it translates into: “Get to the point”. Another similar expression is: “Cut to the chase.”
• What can I do for you? or How can I help you? – Often when you meet a person in a business situation either might be their opening expression. It is a polite way of saying: “What do you want?” or “Why are you here?”
• Let me see what I can do – the speaker has not committed themselves to any specific action. It sounds hopeful yet is vague at the same time. Perhaps they are able to help but if nothing happens they didn’t make any commitments.
• Really? – suppose someone asks: “What did you do over the weekend?” and the responder says: “I climbed Mount Everest.” Raising an eyebrow and responding “Really?” can mean: “I doubt it”, “I don’t believe you” or something worse.
• Direct report – in a manager-staff member relationship, it’s a person who answers to the person one level above in the organisational chart. That manager is responsible for setting goals, conducting their performance reviews and usually determining bonuses and raises. In conversation you might hear: “I have three direct reports.”
• My advice is… – when a manager is speaking with a direct report they might say: “My advice is…” This is a polite way of saying: “This is exactly what I want you to do and how I want you to do it.” It has a ring of politeness and subtlety.
• Reconsider – assuming some people consider changing your mind a sign of weakness or “dithering” how do you ask a person to reverse a decision? “Could you reconsider?” or “Let’s rethink the issue,” is another polite way to ask for the same thing.
• I don’t know what to tell you – if the aim is to be polite and not bring bad news, this expression indicates bad news is about to follow. You can almost follow the person’s thought process leading to the expression: “I want to give you good news. I don’t have any. What am I going to say?. This leads to: “I don’t know how to say this, but…”
• I hear you – assume you are in a conversation with a potential client. They make a point. You disagree with their position. Saying: “That’s not how I see it,” could put the deal at risk: “I hear you” is an expression acknowledging the person’s point without indicating if you agree with them.
• “That’s a very interesting point” – complementing the other person is often a good strategy. It’s also important to show you are listening. “I’m glad you brought that up” is another way of acknowledging a point the person made without agreeing or disagreeing with their position.
• Rogue – a word used on both sides of the Atlantic. In finance we think of “rogue traders” in espionage “rogue agents.” They are not acting on behalf of the organisation implying the organisation is distancing itself from liability. In the 1967 television series Mission Impossible the tape recording included the words “caught or killed the Secretary will disavow all knowledge of your operation.” Same message.
• It’s been said or It appears to be… – both expressions are ways to introduce opinions or points into a conversation without taking responsibility for their accuracy. The speaker can gauge the person’s reaction and create some distance between themselves and the statement.
• Backpedal – something you might do as a result of the above situation. Suppose you make a point starting with “It’s been said…” and the person violently disagrees. You counter: “Personally I don’t believe that…” You are backpedalling.
• Utilise – we have been told it’s wrong to “use” people. You don’t want to be seen as a “user”. In business “utilise” is a tactful expression. “Leverage” is a similar expression. “We should leverage his skills on this project…”
• Effort – it’s a positive-sounding word. “You made a good effort on this project,” or:
• "Thanks for all you effort.” Sound like compliments. I’ve often thought effort is what’s recognised when there aren’t any results to praise. A person can’t really say: “You worked hard, sorry you didn’t get any results.”
• Doing the best they can – you are a financial adviser talking with a potential client about their current adviser. The person lists the other person’s shortcomings. It’s uncharitable to speak ill of a competitor. You condemn with faint praise and use the above expression. It implies they aren’t up to the job.
• Let me be perfectly honest – why do people use this expression? It screams: “I haven’t been honest up to this point but I’m starting now.” If you want to emphasise a point there are simpler ways of doing it: “We’ve discussed a lot of points however this next point is very important to me,” is a good way to draw attention on your next statement.
• With all due respect – the website www.freedictionary.com includes the definition: “Used to politely disagree with someone.” I prefer the definition attributed to Sir Humphrey Appleby (Nigel Hawthorne in Yes Minister, Yes Prime Minister”. “With all due respect” usually precedes something extremely disrespectful.
• Misinformed – we don’t want to say someone has “lied”. It’s an accusation. Other times the situation isn’t as extreme but needs some extracting. Tactful ways of addressing the issue including use of the word: “misinformed”, “I don’t want to mislead you.” “I may have misspoken” and “you may have misunderstood me.”
• Thanks for the call – how do you get someone off the phone? You can’t say: “I’m going to hang up now!” Another tactful statement is: “I’m going to let you go.” Implying the other person is very busy.
• I’ll get back to you – often this can mean: “Don’t call us, we’ll call you” or “If I’m interested I will let you know.” It establishes the speaker will take the next action if any.
• Please see me – when written on top of a memo pad on your desk or a report it brings flashbacks to your early school years: “Please see me after class.” This isn’t good. “Please see me” is probably bad news. “Please see me now” is probably really bad news.
• I realise you are busy – one of my favorite expressions. You are respectful of the person’s time when calling on the phone. It communicates: “I’m going to get straight to the point.” It lets them know if they want to make the call longer, they have that option. They are the busy person.
• Fair – in my opinion it’s an expression used when things aren’t going the way you want. Someone else has an advantage. You are appealing to a higher authority to have it taken away from them. If someone competes in your market by selling items below cost to build market shares, it’s not “fair” trade. You want something done about it.

Do people mean to be deceptive when using specific expressions? Probably not. Most people want to avoid giving offense. In a fast-paced world like finance people often have common expressions that contain a lot of meaning so they get their point across quickly. The challenge is knowing what those expressions mean in that situation.
One final thought: the TV series: CSI – New York accurately captures the pace and lifestyle of being a resident of New York. People really speak and behave like they do on TV!

Bryce Sanders is president of Perceptive Business Solutions and provides HNW client acquisition training for the financial services community. His website is www.perceptivebusiness.com His book Captivating the Wealthy Investor is available on Amazon.com