Brené Brown and Adam Grant were talking about how to politely end a conversation in a recent episode of “The Curosity Shop”. Adam mentioned something he hears often: when a meeting ends early, you’ll hear the phrase:

“I’m going to give you your time back.”

Brené heard that and her face changed. She recognised something linguistically that most people miss. Adam continued, “One of my biggest pet peeves,” he said. “You don’t own my time. You can’t give it to me. Like, this is a coordinated decision.”

What they identified—linguistically—is one of the most elegant power moves in professional speech.

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