One of the things I like so much about writing, as opposed to talking, is the ability to think about and edit what I'm going to say before I say it. Being human, I'm not always perfect on the first try with speaking. I do get disappointed in myself as a Manager maybe too much with this shortcoming, but once you speak the words, they are what they are, and you can't take them back. So you can't worry about it too much, just try and do better the next time.

For instance, I don't particularly like to tell my employees they are "being bad," but well, sometimes they are being bad, or at least the one who's been with the company long enough to be bad is being bad. I know, according to all the Managerial Training Books, managers shouldn't really phrase admonitions this way to their employees; it doesn't help productivity or overall work satisfaction for anyone in the company. A manager instead should patiently point out that the behavior is "not acceptable," advise of the "appropriate behavior," and/or distract the employee, blah blah blah. Maybe in an ideal office environment, where The Manager has an unlimited supply of patience and perfection, this procedure would always be possible. Frankly, it's less that I don't want to tell K.Lo she is "being bad"--because if she is, she needs to know. It's just that there are better ways to say it. That way is not always on the tip of my tongue.

On the other hand, not communicating the right words can be entertaining, even when you don't mean them to be. After clocking in from Break this afternoon, K.Lo filled her chocolate quota for the day, and then continued to ask for more. I offered the alternate options of "pretzels, grapes, or... that's it." It didn't exactly make sense. But K.Lo, not going for the first two options, settled on the "that's it," requesting whatever a "thatsit" is several times. Maybe she thought it was made of chocolate.