AVOID SAYING “BUT” – “You did great work, but…” immediately cancels the compliment. Better to change it to: “You did great work, AND here’s what we can improve for next time…”
EASE UP ON SUPERLATIVES – Describing everything as “extremely”, “remarkably” or “epic” takes away from the things that actually deserve those adjectives.
CONFIDENT SPEAKING HACK – If you are asked what you want for dinner, don’t say “I don’t know…I’m craving pizza.” You come across as a more confident, assertive person (not aggressive), to simply state what you want. Especially since you DO know.