Subjective vs. Objective
In a business environment, it is not always best to encourage a great deal of personal interaction. There is nothing necessarily wrong with expressing subjective views, but in a business situation, it is usually better to present things from an objective position, presenting things from an outsider's point of view.A subjective position can imply a certain amount of bias, or personal need, while an objective statement can be much more universally accepted.
Remember this:
- Subjective: This is based on the ideas, thoughts, feelings, and experiences of the person who is speaking or writing (essentially a first-person point of view).
- Objective: This is not affected by personal ideas, thoughts, feelings, or experiences of the person speaking or writing (a third-person perspective).
Consider the following two messages that are intended to convey the same idea, but are strikingly different:
- Our new vacation policy is ridiculous!
- The new vacation policy requires more advanced notice.
Statement 1 is certainly someone's personal opinion, but most would agree that Statement 2 is more effective because it does not appear to reflect the opinion of a single person. The third-person point of view is considered to be more objective, precisely because there is a sense of removal, and can therefore be more objective in nature.
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