4 communication myths to ponder

We dubbed March, myth-busting March. And there are a lot of myths (or assumptions) about what makes for good communication at work. Prepare to have your mind blown...or maybe your ideas confirmed. Let's look at a few unhelpful communication myths at work:

Myth 1: Bigger words make you sound smarter.

FACT: When writers use shorter words and plain English, the audience thinks they're smarter.

Put down the thesaurus! You don't need four-syllable words to show your cleverness. In fact, it has the opposite effect.

Daniel Oppenheimer, a psychologist at Princeton University, studied this intensely. His research found that "complex vocabulary makes texts harder to read, which in turn lowers judgments of an author’s intelligence.”

Why?

• Cognitive fluency: it’s easier for the brain to process clear and simple information.

• Demonstrates your understanding: simple language suggests you’ve mastered the subject matter to the point you can break it down.

• Builds trust: Plain English makes you seem more approachable and less like an elitist expert.

So, avoid jargon, use short sentences, chunk down ideas and choose everyday words.

Myth 2: People are logical.

FACT: People are always emotional and sometimes logical.

Our logic always follows our emotion. As part of our survival instincts, our brains are wired to prioritise emotional responses. This means we process feelings before facts.

You can’t logic-bully someone into agreeing with you or doing what you want. When it comes to influencing people, emotions, values and personal stories are much stronger than objectivity. This emotional bias influences how we perceive information, how we remember it, and how we act on it.

And what's one of the best ways to tap into someone's emotions? Tell a story.

Myth 3: Admitting weaknesses makes you sound weak or less credible.

FACT: Presenting your weaknesses up front can make you appear stronger.

If you have a choice of presenting a weakness up front or at the end of an interaction, choose the first option. Why? It’s a sign of openness. And that’s all part of credibility.

Research on the Pratfall Effect (1960s) shows that people who acknowledge their flaws, without overdoing it, are often seen as more likeable and competent. It makes you human and relatable.

Admitting weaknesses or minor mistakes can:

✅ Make you seem more authentic and relatable

✅ Increase credibility (people trust those who don’t pretend to be perfect)

✅ Reduce defensiveness from others

If you're writing a report, don't tuck weaknesses or constraints at the end; own it up front. Otherwise, the reader might get an unhelpful threat response at the end, and start questioning your credibility.

For example, instead of waiting til the end, you might start your paper with a disclaimer: To truly compare trends of ____ we need at least 10 years of historical data. However, we currently only have 2 years to compare. From these two years, however, we can still see some interesting changes.

Myth 4: Professional people don't use emojis at work.

Fact: Emojis can positively impact your team.

Emojis are here to stay. But do should they stay only in our social chats? Not according to a 2023 research study conducted by Jungmin Choi, So-Hyeon Shim and Sara Kim, titled "The power of emojis"

Their findings:

Positive emojis have the green light! 🚦👍🙂☺️🥳🎉🙌🎊🎆🏆⚡🔥💡😃✌️

Want to communicate better at work?

1. Use short sentences and plain English. Cut the jargon whenever possible.

2. Appeal to people's emotions. Tell a story.

3. Present any weaknesses up front; it shows credibility.

4. Use positive emojis to give your team communications a lift.

   
   

What other communication myths would you add to this list?