Decoding polite work email responses

Everyone might be speaking English, but we’re not all saying the same thing. It doesn’t take long to see that in the UK, what’s said and what’s meant aren’t always the same thing. In Nigeria, we’re direct. You know where you stand. In the UK? You need to learn the code. Here are a few phrases I’ve had to decode: 🔸 “That’s an interesting idea…” 🇬🇧 I disagree, but I’m being polite. 🇳🇬 I like this. Let’s explore it. 🔸 “It’s a work in progress.” 🇬🇧 It’s not working yet—but we’re not giving up publicly. 🇳🇬 We’re still figuring it out. 🔸 “Let’s take it offline.” 🇬🇧 This is uncomfortable. Let’s stop. 🇳🇬 Let’s speak privately, frankly. 🔸 “Noted.” 🇬🇧 I heard you. That’s all. 🇳🇬 I heard you and I’ll act on it. 🔸 “It’s a bold proposal.” 🇬🇧 This idea is a bit too much. We won’t be moving forward, but thanks for sharing. 🇳🇬 This is big thinking—let’s go for it. 🔸 “Let’s revisit this later.” 🇬🇧 Quietly shutting it down. 🇳🇬 We’ll come back to it. 🔸 “Correct me if I’m wrong…” 🇬🇧 I’m confident I’m right—but being polite about it. 🇳🇬 I may be wrong. Tell me if I am. 🔸 “It’s in hand.” 🇬🇧 It’s on my list—but not urgent. 🇳🇬 I’m on it right now. 🔸 “Let’s not reinvent the wheel.” 🇬🇧 Let’s stick with what we know. 🇳🇬 Let’s not stress. Who has done it before? 🔸 “Let’s socialise the idea.” 🇬🇧 Let’s float it gently and gauge reactions. 🇳🇬 Tell a few trusted people before we announce it. In cross-cultural work, fluency isn’t just about language—it’s about meaning. Which workplace phrase took you a while to figure out? #CulturalIntelligence #WorkCulture #NigerianInTheUK #Leadership #SoftSkills #GlobalTeams #TayoGeorge

Trouble at work rarely announces itself. It starts with a calm, familiar phrase. After 25 years in boardrooms, I’ve learned to translate corporate speak faster than Google Translate. It’s not what you Boss say. It’s what they really mean. Here are 7 polite phrases that actually mean trouble 👇 And what to do if you hear them: 1. "We are not looking to assign blame." Translation: Someone is getting blamed. Just not yet. What to do: Stay factual. Don’t point fingers but don’t volunteer as tribute. 2.  "Your role is evolving" Translation: Rejoice, we are giving you 3 jobs for the price of 1. What to do: Say, “Happy to take on more. Can we discuss what I should stop doing to make room for it? ”3. "I have some feedback for you" Translation: Brace yourself. This might not be good What to do: If it is negative ask for concrete examples so prevents vague criticism. 4. “Come in and close the door behind you” Translation: This is private (and potentially bad). You are about to hear something critical. What to do: Bring a notebook. Stay calm. Taking notes shifts the tone and gives you documentation. 5. “Help me understand what happened here.” Translation: You’ve likely screwed up, and they want your side before issuing consequences. What to do: Explain the facts without getting emotional. 6. “What are the learnings here?” Translation: This didn’t go well and we have to understand why. What to do: Offer 1–2 lessons and next steps. It shows leadership even in failure. 7. “Can we  talk?” Translation: Something is wrong and it involves you. What to do: Say, “Of course. Can you share what it’s about so I can prepare?” Decode the Danger: What to Remember ✅ Stay calm, even if your stomach flips. ✅ Ask for examples, vague feedback is useless. ✅ Write everything down while it’s fresh. ❌ Don’t interrupt or talk over them. ❌ Don’t get defensive or blame others. ❌ Don’t ignore it - it usually means something serious. Save this to use it whenever you need it. ♻️ Repost to help others decode the danger 👥 Follow me, Ani Filipova , for daily content on Leadership and Career 📩 Subscribe to my newsletter - link in featured section.

"𝘓𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴." Sounds innocent, right? But every architect knows this phrase is a trap. One moment, you're wrapping up the project, feeling accomplished. The next, you're knee-deep in revision #47, wondering how a tiny adjustment turned into a complete redesign with the same deadline, of course. And where does this chaos begin? In emails. Polite. Professional. Carefully worded. But if you read between the lines, the real meaning is very different. So, let’s decode some classics 1️⃣ What they say: "𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴." What they mean: "𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘭." 2️⃣ What they say: "𝘓𝘦𝘵'𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘦 𝘢 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴." What they mean: "𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸 27 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦." 3️⃣ What they say: "𝘞𝘦'𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴." What they mean: "𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵." 4️⃣ What they say: "𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴." What they mean: "𝘞𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘣𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘵." Being an architect means mastering the art of email diplomacy. 😆 But one thing we actually mean? Architects deserve - fair pay, - realistic deadlines, and - proper work-life balance. No all-nighters here! Tag a fellow architect who can definitely relate! 😂👇