You sound boring because you are too polite: 10 email phrases to swap
By Yogesh Pandey · 26 October 2026 · 2 min read
Polite is not the problem. Polite and unclear is. Phrases like “just circling back”, “sorry for the delay” and “does that make sense?” soften every message until it sounds like every other email. Swap them for the direct version: “Did you get a chance to look at the deck?”, “Thanks for waiting”, “What would you change?”
The polite copy
The polite copy is the version of you that writes like every email you have ever received. It is safe, and it is invisible. Nobody remembers it and nobody feels they know the person behind it.
Ten swaps
“Just circling back…” becomes “Did you get a chance to look at the deck?” “Sorry for the delay” becomes “Thanks for waiting.” “I just wanted to check…” becomes “Quick check:” “Sorry if this is a stupid question” becomes “Question:” “In my humble opinion…” becomes “I think…”
“Does that make sense?” becomes “What would you change?” “I’ll try my best” becomes “You’ll have it by Thursday.” “To be honest…” just gets deleted. “Let’s touch base” becomes “Can we talk Tuesday at 4?” And “No worries if not!” gets deleted too. Let them say no.
Why clear is kinder
Softening everything is what the self-help industry taught most of us, and everyone who learns the same soft phrases ends up sounding the same. A clear message respects the other person’s time. They know what you want and what happens next.
- Pick one phrase from the list.
- Delete it from your next five messages.
- Notice whether anything bad actually happens.
This started as a carousel. See more at @monarchslife.