Pre-Mid Assignment 1

Submitted by:
o Eshaal Naseem
o Hareema Kamran
o Umama Mahmood
Submitted to: Ma’am Asma Nisar
Course Title: Business Communication
Semester: 3
Section: B
Date: September 13, 2021
BUSINESS STUDIES DEPARTMENT KINNAIRD
COLLEGE FOR WOMEN LAHORE, PAKISTAN
Batch: 2020-2024

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 Article: The problem with saying “IT’S NO BIG DEAL"
By James R. Detert

 Meaning of the phrase “it’s no big deal”

“It’s no big deal” is basically an idiom which means that it’s nothing to worry about. We say this
when we want others to think that we didn’t mind whatever they had done or said.
For example, if someone had made mistake at their office and they tell their colleague about it,
he/she might say “don’t worry, it’s no big deal”.

 Reason why we say it :

When someone says or do something offensive or violates your values in any way, the most natural
response is to feel frustrated or feel resentment towards that individual, but despite of our urge to
do or say something about it, we often find ourselves using the term "it’s no big deal". Reasons for
saying this are:
 Avoiding conflict
We often use this idiom because we don’t want any bad blood between us and that person who
has offended us. We say it’s no big deal to their mistakes and their bad behaviors to avoid any
conflicts

 Avoiding confrontation
Another reason could be that maybe we are just running away from having difficult
conversations and facing the matter head on. Another reason why we avoid confrontation can
be that we have a fear of being rejected when standing up for ourselves.

 Giving benefit of the doubt

Lastly, maybe it’s because we want to maintain an optimist behavior by always thinking that
the other person had good intentions or by thinking that maybe it’s us who are overthinking
the situation.
By doing this we may be avoiding the conflict for a short term but the feelings of resentment keep
filling up and eventually, burst in the future, resulting in major problems, which are further
discussed.
 Why it is a problem?
In the attempt of avoiding conflict, you experience a multitude of changes in your personality,
work efficiency and environment. These changes are explained bellow,

 Change in personality
In many situations, people aim to avoid conflict in order to portray a calm and collected
exterior. They may find confrontation scary or just unnecessary at times. Either way, this
act develops unresolved feelings of resentment that first lead to mood swings and then later

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 to entire personality changes. It starts with feelings of uneasiness and irritation and then
slowly progresses to frustration and random bursts of anger.

 Change in work efficiency

In work situations, it gets even harder to go on when you have such accumulated feelings
of resentment. Completing work tasks gets harder as your attention remains compromised.
You find it hard to focus at work and in attempt to forget about what’s bothering you, you
only end up thinking about it more. It results in lower work efficiency which only makes
things go downhill from there.

 Change in surroundings
It’s a fact that every person brings some kind of energy in the environment they’re in. Their
presence sometimes brings a positive change or a negative change in their surrounding
based on their attitude. These changes means the way you interact with your coworkers,
your employees and staff etc.
 Example
For better understanding let’s take an example of a women working in an organization who is
constantly neglected by her superiors. Despite of her talents and intelligent opinions, she feel
disrespected and transparent. If she forces herself to believe that she is not being neglected or
avoided by anyone, that they are just too busy to notice her, or she just tell herself that “it’s no big
deal, she can harbor strong negative feelings towards her superiors which will affect her mood, her
body language, and eventually her work efficiency. With this continuous pattern, her superiors
will notice her negative attitude in no time and she might have to say farewell to her job. But if
she chooses to speak up about the issue she can avoid this altogether by confronting them about
their behavior in a proper manner.
When your mental state reaches such a magnitude, it's better to sit down and question oneself how
big of a deal the situation is? If it's truly no big deal that it doesn't require any further pondering
but if it affects you to the extent that it causes you mere discomfort thinking about it then it's
definitely a big deal. The best way to deal with negative emotions is to address the problem head-
on. Although speaking up may seem scary it can be the solution of all the problems if it is done
properly.

 Strategies to overcome this problem

 Calm conversation
Having a calm and respectful conversation could help eliminate such resentment. In such
situations, it's essential that you don't let your emotion get the best of you and you retain your
ability to be rational.

 Scheduled meeting
When your associate says something somewhat disturbing in a gathering, the best line of action
is to set up a meeting with them or pull them aside in private to avoid getting into an awkward
situation.

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  Act but don’t ambush
By planning some ideal opportunity to discuss it or watchfully approach them about it after
some time has elapsed. That way you’ll allow yourself an opportunity to separate from your
underlying passionate reaction and to thoroughly anticipate what you need to say and how
you'll say it. In this way you can express yourself and understand the other person's perspective.

 Conclusion
This process of true enquiry helps you understand the other person's intentions without ambushing
them. It is also a polite way of seeing if something is truly significant, and it is perfectly consistent
with the idea of assuming good intentions. It’s important to always come in terms with your
emotions and addressing situations so they don't become big deals.

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