Hedging Disclaimers

Video Transcript

"Alright. Now remember we are trying to prevent conversational problems and the best way to do that is the disclaimer. There are actually three types of disclaimers that I want to talk about. The first one is hedging. Hedging helps separate you from the message. So, if the listener rejects your message they don't necessarily reject you. This one is really, really, really good. This is kind of the concept of don't shoot the messenger. I mean I'm having to tell you this, but that doesn't necessarily mean that I made it up or that I'm the one giving the message, or I feel that way. I am giving the message, but I'm not necessarily the one that feels that way. An example of a good disclaimer is "I may be wrong here, but." You are admitting, you know that whoever you are talking to they may already get upset so go ahead and give yourself a disclaimer "I may be wrong, but the way I see this is" or "I may be wrong, but it seems to me like". OK. That will help separate you from the message. You're already admitting you could be wrong, but this is your perception."