10 Things to Say Instead of “Do Your Best” by Suzanne Lucas
“Do your best.” Have you said this? Or what about “Just do your best.” Is there a difference between those two phrases?
It depends on how they are said. I’ve often used the latter when employees say that they aren’t capable of doing the task at hand. It’s usually said with a sigh, “Just do your best,” as if I’m already acknowledging that their performances will be substandard.
The first phrase, though, “do your best,” can, if said in the proper chipper manner, indicate that this person should honestly do his or her best on this project. No stone left unturned, no detail ignored. There are very few times that this level of perfection is what you want. Most of the work your employees need to do is average work.
If you want to motivate people to do the right kind of work, here are ten phrases you should use instead.
Michael Sauers is the Director of Logan Library in Logan, UT. Prior to this he was one of the founding staff and Technology Manager for Do Space in Omaha, NE. After earning his MLS in 1995 from the University at Albany's School of Information Science and Policy Michael spent his first 20 years as a librarian training other librarians in technology along with time as a public library trustee, a bookstore manager for a library friends group, a reference librarian, a technology consultant, and a bookseller. He has written dozens of articles for various journals and magazines and has published 14 books ranging from library technology, blogging, Web design, and an index to a popular horror magazine. In his spare time, he blogs at TravelinLibrarian.info, runs The Collector's Guide to Dean Koontz website at CollectingKoontz.com, takes many, many photos, and typically reads more than 100 books a year.
Unless otherwise stated, all opinions are my own and are not to be considered those of the City of Logan, UT.
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