Have you ever said, “See you around…” when what you meant was, “Glad to be done with you.” Or have you said, “Great job!” when you 
really meant, “Finally you got the thing right!”
People give meta-messages constantly, where one thing is spoken and another is intended. We do it in business and often fail to question the meta-message words cloak. Ever walk into a store and hear a loud and cheerful, “How are you today?” which really means, “How can we suck money out of you, today?”
Deborah Tannen ... author of bestselling book, Talking from 9 to 5, explains that what we say is in huge part influenced by “people’s different experiences and backgrounds… as well as by age class and gender.” Do you agree?
Do you work with people who have high linguistic intelligence? They say what they mean and say it well…. Or do you encounter people at work who use meta-messages as a way to get hidden meanings across?
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