Week 2 · Calm Authority · Day 14 of 28 · Sunday · Review · 10 min
Week 2 review: hedges and fillers
Day 14 · Week 2 Review
Redo the Day 9 prompt, compare hedges and fillers with the first run, write three honest answers, and choose one habit to carry into Week 3.
Redo the Day 9 prompt in Speak: “What I’m working on, and why it matters”. This time look at hedges as well as fillers; hedges are what make you sound unsure. Compare with your Day 9 run. Then answer in today’s notes: which brave action did you do and what happened, where did you hedge this week and with whom, and what is the one habit to carry into Week 3.
Steps
Redo the Day 9 prompt in Speak.
Picture it · 3 examples
Example Redo Day 9
“What I’m working on, and why it matters.” You do it standing, after two sighs, because that is a habit now.
At home At the kitchen table, Sunday
Speak open, the Day 9 prompt, standing by the table. Sixty seconds. You hear yourself say “I think” on the one claim you are not sure about, and nowhere else. That is new, and useful.
In the car In the car
You take the phone out to the car and do it there. Two sighs. Sixty seconds. The first sentence is five words, like it was on Day 9. The difference is the second one: on Day 9 it was twenty-two words and ended in a gasp. Today it is nine.
Compare hedges and fillers with your Day 9 run in Me.
Picture it · 3 examples
Example Compare hedges and fillers
Day 9: 7 hedges, 4 fillers. Day 14: 2 hedges, 2 fillers. Both of today’s hedges are “I think”, on the sentences you are least sure of. Useful information.
In the office The chart in Me
Two dots for hedges: seven, then two. The fillers barely moved: four, then three. The week was about hedges, and the chart says so. You screenshot it for yourself.
In the car The one that moved the wrong way
In the car, chart open. Hedges down from six to one. Fillers down from four to two. Pace up from 149 to 168, because you were comfortable and sped up. Next week’s habit just chose itself.
Write your three answers in today’s notes.
Picture it · 3 examples
Example Three answers
“Brave action: asked a question in the all-hands. The CEO answered me by name. Hedged: with the client about the delay, because I was avoiding a hard conversation. Habit: conclusion first.”
In the office Written at your desk, Sunday night
“Brave action: told the director I disagreed. She said ‘go on’. Hedged: with my own team, about the Friday deadline, because I didn’t want to be the bad guy. Habit: say the thing, then stop.”
At home Written on the phone
“Brave action: walked over to the speaker at drinks and introduced myself. Hedged: with my brother about the holiday plan, because I always do with him. Habit: two sighs before anything that matters.”
Choose one habit for Week 3.
Picture it · 3 examples
Example Choose one habit
“Conclusion first” goes on a new sticky note. The old one, “pause before answering”, has become automatic, so it comes down.
In the office On the monitor
“Say it, then stop.” New sticky note, on the monitor, Monday morning. Last week’s note, “exit cleanly”, comes down, because you did it four times this week without reading it.
At home In the phone notes
“Two sighs first.” You change the pinned note. The old one, “hands at rest”, you leave in the list underneath, because it still helps to see it, but it is not the one for this week.
Today’s notes
One line each.
- Which brave action did you do, and what happened?
- Where did you hedge this week, and with whom?
- What is the one habit to carry into Week 3?
Lock it in
Tick what’s true.
I redid it and compared.
Picture it · 3 examples
Example Redid it and compared
Sunday morning, standing, the Day 9 prompt, then the chart in Me. Hedges seven to two. Fillers four to two. The hedges fell by more than the fillers, which tells you what Week 2 actually taught.
At home Side by side
You play Day 9 and Day 14 back to back at the kitchen table. The second one has no “sort of” in it, and the only “I think” is on the one claim you were unsure of. The hedges have moved to where they belong.
In the car In the car
Both runs through the car speakers in the supermarket car park. Your partner says the second one sounds “like you when you’re sure”. The chart agrees, in numbers.
I wrote my three answers.
Picture it · 3 examples
Example Three answers written
In today’s notes. The honest one about the client, where you hedged because you were avoiding a hard conversation, is the one you nearly did not write. It is also the one Week 4 is for.
At home On the phone, in bed
Three answers typed with one thumb. The brave action was the drinks. The hedge was your brother. The habit is the breath. You read them once and put the phone down.
In the car In the car outside the supermarket
Three lines before you go in. The second one names the people you hedged with, your own team, and why. Writing their names down made it true in a way thinking about it did not.
I chose one habit for Week 3.
Picture it · 3 examples
Example One habit chosen
Conclusion first. Starting with Monday’s 9 am email to the director, which you write with the recommendation in the first line and nothing in front of it.
In the office Say it, then stop
One habit for Week 3: say the thing, then stop. Monday’s planning meeting is the first test. You say it, you stop, and the silence is filled by someone agreeing.
On a call Two sighs first
Two sighs before anything that matters. You use it on Monday before a phone call you had been avoiding. The call is fine. The habit is the breath, not the call.