What you say and What is heard
OXY is defined as intense or sharp. A Moron is interchangeable with dimwittedness, boneheadedness, “dunceness” (Deal with it.) And, an oxymoron is a figure of speech using contradictory terms. (IKR?)
A Performance Appraisal is a tool intended to provide feedback to someone. Sometimes, however, the appraisal writer tries too hard to be eloquent and super clear in how they say what they want to say. For example:
“Joe is frequently the blameless culprit in things that go wrong due to his clear confusion and deliberately thoughtless behaviors.” ??
“I have had to resort to extensive briefings to overcome his intense apathy.” ??
“Joe is justifiably paranoid in his thinking that he is the least favorite among all of the staff when it comes to the randomly organized delegation of tasks.” ??
“His passive aggressive nature gets in the way of being a qualified success.” ??
“Joe is an example of unbiased opinions and, thus, the only choice for consideration, he brings a mild interest to his work and he is capable of minor miracles.”
If you took meaning from these communication examples…I’m a bit worried. With a straight face, try giving this to someone and ask them to tell you what you are ostensibly saying.
Words have meanings. When giving directions or providing feedback, slowdown and choose your words carefully. Make sure your message gets delivered the way you intended and are understood by the receiver. After all, the receiver determines the message, not always the sender.