Time Speak

I was fresh out of university, back in Leeds, working on school administration software. We were given a training budget and boarded a coach south, ending up at Blenheim Palace for a customer service programme with Mary Gober International.

One technique stuck. Decades later, I still use it daily.

Time Speak.

Why vague commitments break trust before they are even broken

One of the core recommended workplace behaviours is simple: do what you say you will.

If you commit, deliver. If you cannot, communicate early and honestly. Trust is built through kept commitments. It breaks through vague promises and quiet delays.

The problem is that most workplace communication makes keeping commitments structurally harder than it needs to be. When someone says "I'll get that to you soon," they have made a promise with no mechanism of accountability. The other person does not know when to expect it. The person making the promise does not have a specific deadline to orient around. The commitment is soft on both sides — easy to make, easy to slide past without quite breaking it.

Time Speak closes that gap. Instead of saying what you will do, you add when. That single addition turns intention into a contract.

The three levels of commitment

Weak: "I'll call you back."

Better: "I'll call you back this week."

Best: "I'll call you back on Thursday at 11am — does that work?"

The difference between the first and the third is not just specificity. It is respect. A specific time means you have thought about the other person's schedule, their need to plan around a conversation, their right to know when they will hear from you, their time, energy and attention. It signals that you take the commitment seriously enough to anchor it to a real moment in real time.

And critically — even if nothing has changed, even if you have no new information, you still call at Thursday 11am. You keep the commitment whether or not the news is good. That is what makes it trust-building rather than just administrative.

What Time Speak actually builds

It shows respect — you plan around someone else's life rather than your own convenience.

It creates accountability — specific times remove the escape routes that vague language provides.

It builds discipline — you are forced to think carefully before committing, because the commitment is visible and specific.

It encourages bravery — and this is the part most people underestimate. Time Speak makes it necessary to push back on unreasonable requests honestly rather than agreeing to something you know you cannot deliver. "I cannot do the presentation by Wednesday — that work requires more time than is available. I can deliver it by Thursday at 4pm" is harder to say than "I'll try to get it done" but it is far more valuable to everyone involved. It is a real commitment rather than a false one.

Using Time Speak to raise the standard around you

Once you adopt this habit, you begin to notice its absence — and you can do something about it.

I was dealing with my studio insurance company recently. The agent told me they would call back at some point next week. I asked for a specific day and time. They paused, came back immediately with a day and time — and called at exactly that moment.

They were entirely capable of Time Speak. They simply had not been taught that it matters. Once prompted, they delivered. Most people can make specific commitments when they are asked to. The default vagueness is not inability — it is habit.

High-performing delivery companies do not say "your parcel will arrive soon." They give you a window, sometimes an hour. That specificity is not just logistical — it is a signal of respect and reliability. The same principle applies at work. "I'll send it by Friday at 2pm" and then sending it at that time compounds trust in a way that "I'll send it soon" never can.

Starting small

Replace one vague commitment this week with a specific date and time. Honour it even if nothing has changed. Propose a realistic deadline the next time someone asks for something you genuinely cannot deliver in the time they are expecting.

Do this consistently for a few months and it becomes part of how you communicate — not a technique you apply, but a way of being. That is when it compounds into something significant: a reputation for reliability that opens doors and survives difficult periods because the trust it has built is real rather than assumed.

Trust is not given. It is earned through kept commitments. Time Speak is how you make keeping them structurally easier, more visible, and more reliable.