I Did Not Say That, Part 9: Avoiding "I Can't"

Most of my clients are in the service business. Serving others concerns what you can do, not what you cannot do. For this obvious reason, I admonish people to avoid defaulting to expressions such as I cannot, We are unable to, My team finds it impossible to, and Our company is not in a position to—all meaning just about the same thing: we are recalcitrant, indolent, and intractable.

So how do we get around saying and writing I can't, especially to the people we owe our living to? By saying its opposite: I can:

• Instead of writing the repellent "I can't help you next week," write "I can help you today." 
• Avoid saying the negative "We are unable to complete this project without additional staff and funding," by saying "We are able to complete this project with additional staff and funding." 
• Rather than communicate "My team finds it impossible to complete this proposal on time," prefer "My team needs another day to complete this proposal." 
• Drop "Our company is not in a position to provide guidance in this area" in favor of "Our company recommends expert consultant Paul Jefferson for guidance in this area."

I am not saying we should never use expressions like I can't, but I am saying that we should default to positives. If your clients insist you help them next week after you've written, "I can help you today," then explain: "I'll be on my honeymoon next week" or whatever your reason. If they still insist, then they're not getting the message, although reasonable people will. They have given you no choice but to write the negative "I am unavailable next week." But remember to make the positive I can your default.