Banning so-called 'weasel words' like 'try' and 'if' is just a recipe for poor decisions and stupid mistakes.

Last week, Forbes Magazine announced a definitive list of words that you shouldn’t say at work. Now, I’ve generally become aware, through years of painful learning, that directing four-letter words at your boss isn’t particularly helpful. Other than that, though, I have always believed that most words are fairly useful, depending on their context.

Not according to Forbes. The magazine lists a number of words, including 'try' and 'if', and phrases such as 'I don’t know' and 'I’ll get back to you', that should instantly be hacked from our vocabulary.

The point of the article, written by a psychotherapist and business consultant, is to highlight ‘weasel’ words and make those of us who use them feel suitably ashamed and embarrassed. I suppose the ultimate aim is to replace such weasel words with bear words (that’s if a bear is the opposite of a weasel) so that we only ever say things such as 'yep', 'sure thing' and 'can do'.

I have to say, at first there’s a strange appeal to what’s being suggested. It creates a rush of adrenalin. It makes the chest pump out; the pulse race. My aggressive inner voice cheers and suddenly wants to stamp on all things weasel, like taking holiday, sick leave or worst and weasiliest of all, being indecisive. While we’re at it, now’s our chance to return to the great days of the eighties and do away with weasily things like work/life balance and well-being. Lunch is for weasels, to paraphrase the great Gordon Gekko.

But once the pulse rate returns to normal and the reality of the list dawns, it’s apparent that this is about as mindless as management advice can be. We are still in the thick of a global recession that was driven – in no small way – by unnecessary risk taking, narcissistic leadership and a lack of challenge to poor decisions. Surely by now we have learnt that saying 'yes, now what’s the question' or 'no problem' to every request is going to lead us into situations where we make stupid mistakes that not only waste money, but cost jobs and livelihoods. If the past few years have taught us one thing it is that integrity, trust and honesty in communication are not just desirable leadership qualities; they're absolute necessities.

Language is a subtle and powerful tool that has many shades of variation, deliberately. It is said to separate humans from all other animals. To take a scalpel (their advice) to essential words that convey uncertainty and the need to gather more facts before making a decision smacks of the worst macho b*llsh*t leadership stereotype (words chosen carefully) imaginable.

Stuart Duff is Head of Development at Pearn Kandola Business Psychologists.