Among the hardest three words to say, are, \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d We hate that we don\u2019t know something, when asked. So, we march ahead with an answer. Sometimes we condition it with, \u201cI believe\u2026.\u201d \u2013 I\u2019ve been told\u2026.\u201d \u2013 \u201cI heard\u2026.\u201d \u2013 \u201cThe word on the street is\u2026.\u201d Or, we lie. Fake it! Make up an answer and hope it doesn\u2019t come back to haunt us.<\/p>\n
Why is it so hard to say those three little words? (This is where I should say, \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d But off I go with an answer.) We can\u2019t say those three little words because of our egos. The asker, who thought we would know the answer, has just complimented us. We hate to lose face and say, \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Politicians don\u2019t have that problem. They never say they don\u2019t know. Instead, they respond with a delaying tactic, \u201cThat\u2019s a great question.\u201d That compliment to interviewers throws them off guard. It\u2019s called the \u201cflatter and distract\u201d technique. Then off they go on a long round of blather and never answer the question. <\/p>\n
This phobia isn\u2019t a male or female thing. Both sexes are equally guilty of not being able to say, \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d It\u2019s even harder to say than, \u201cI was wrong.\u201d Which is what you are setting yourself up for when you answer a question with fiction rather than fact. Fortunately, saying you were wrong got easier when some clever person, probably a politician, invented the phrase, \u201cMy bad.\u201d <\/p>\n
Somehow, this takes the sting out of admitting you are wrong. We hate to be wrong, but we hate even more to admit it. Saying \u201cMy bad,\u201d solves the problem. I\u2019d love to meet the person who came up with it. I asked Google. I was sure it wouldn\u2019t know and would just throw up a bunch of web sites, which is another way of saying, \u201cThat\u2019s a good question.\u201d That\u2019s what I got. I picked the one that said it came from the 1995 movie, \u201cClueless.\u201d If that\u2019s wrong, it\u2019s \u201cMy bad.\u201d<\/p>\n