Ana English Coach For Tech Professionals

Disagreement is a normal part of any work environment

It is only normal that people to have their thoughts and opinions.

However, while disagreement might be normal, a lot of people struggle to communicate it effectively. 🗣️

You might be afraid that you will offend others by expressing that you don't agree.

Or even that you will start a conflict in your office.

Don't worry. Today, I want to teach you a simple way how you can say that you don't agree in English politely and collaboratively.

No one will get offended if you say it like this.

Replace "BUT" with "AND"

❌ "BUT" can sound dismissive and confrontational

✔️"AND" allows you to acknowledge the other person's point of view and position yourself as their partner in solving the problem instead of an opponent.

Example:

👎 "I can see the benefits of your proposal, but I believe there might be other ways to achieve the same goal."

👍 "I can see the benefits of your proposal, and I believe there might be other ways to achieve the same goal."

In the first sentence, you are dismissing the person's proposal.

In the second example, you are showing that you both are on the same team and you direct the conversation to explore more options.

Now it's your turn to practice.

Disagree with the statement below using "AND"

"I think we should reduce the time spent on code reviews to speed up our project delivery."

Share your answers in the comments 💬