Hello and how were all of your holiday weekends?

If they were anything like my own, they were quite full.

In times like these, I find it’s easy for me to fall into reminding those around me (i.e. my sweet husband) of all the things that need to occur.

As I was doing so this past weekend, I noticed there was a big difference between my saying,

“Don’t forget to do thus-and-such”

Vs.

“Please remember to do thus-and-such.”

Do you hear it?

To me, “Don’t forget,” implies that someone might do so….and that implication of incompetence isn’t likely to leave others feeling particularly sparkly about themselves (not to mention, you.)

“Please remember”, on the other hand,

a) has “please” in it and

b) acknowledges that you have made a request of them—that you have noticed the demand you have made on their time.

Should you think this sounds a little highfalutin and hairsplitting—after all, when you need something done— please remember to check out what happens when you toggle between the two.

For more seemingly slight, yet oddly powerful, differences in everyday phrases, take a look at, “Let me know what I can do…” vs. “How can I help?” http://www.francescolejones.com/2014/08/let-me-know-what-i-can-do-vs-how-can-i-help/