Lesson #9

If you don’t have anything nice to say…

Mothers always tell their children, “If you don’t have anything nice to say about someone, then don’t say anything at all.” Once again, Mom was right on the mark—it is better to keep our unkind opinions about others to ourselves. Negative words can hurt people, and they don’t serve any good purpose. Mom always insisted that we use words carefully, particularly when we are talking about someone else.

Ever heard the World War II expression “Loose lips sink ships”? Well, loose lips can also sink careers. Cubicles have ears; watch what you say about co-workers, because it can come back to haunt you! Working together effectively requires that we respect one another’s feelings. Saying unkind things ...

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