Solution-oriented language can completely revamp your customer’s experience when working with you and their view of you, your team, and the company.

When talking to your customers (internal and external) focus on what you can do, not what you can’t do. Customers typically don’t want to hear about “policy” or “procedure”. Now, you certainly need those in place for scaling and efficiencies, but focusing on solutions and phrases like “Let’s figure out what we can do here to help you” implies advocacy for your customer and can de-escalate difficult situations.

This stems from Jon Picoult’s book “From Impressed to Obsessed.”

This idea certainly resonates with me, but it also impacted my approach to some recent projects. And I believe the outcome was superior because of it.