I watched the last severance episode.
A manager (an 80’s looking, strong and tall black man so you identify him) is told during a performance review he “uses too many big words”.
To me, while this character can appear pretentious, he is simply an articulate man, like somebody who was taught at Oxford or Princeton. It’s simply how he was raised, it’s not his “fault”.
I would feel attacked is somebody told me that for trying to use an appropriate vocabulary to describe or explain something, like being posh was something to be ridiculed.
If a coworker told me that I’d use a more detailed description so he understands what I mean but otherwise keep using my regular vocabulary. If a manager told me that I’d start looking for a new job, as it’d signal he feels entitled to micromanage me and a job doesn’t have to be stressful.
Am I too thin skinned?
Telling an employee how they should speak could potentially be micromanaging, but providing constructive criticism for drafting emails et cetera is not.
I don’t think that thin skinned is the right word for this. It’s great to take pride in your own writing style and natural to feel somewhat offended when someone is critical of it. However, it can’t hurt to at least listen to criticism in an objective way before deciding whether it’s author is being a toxic micromanaging prick, or may indeed have something useful to say.
Oddly enough, just 2 days ago I told a team member to make some changes to the tone of an email. He’s a tax consultant, he was emailing an employee of a client who does their bookwork. It was a long email regarding multiple ways they could improve their records in future in order to minimise our fees. My team member didn’t really intend it but he’d drafted something that just made him look like an asshole “I’m better than you” type missive to someone who’s doing their best with no support and no formal training.
I explained that a good relationship with that person will be far more valuable and helpful to us in future than whatever improvements in their records might arise from the email itself.
The skills involved in drafting good communication can be continually improved over a lifetime.