Apr 14, 2025
Paper Promises
Verbal yeses mean nothing.
People hide behind them because there's no receipt. No audit trail. No follow-up. Just vibes. Verbal commitments are slippery by design - they give the illusion of agreement without the weight of action. They make it easy to nod, avoid conflict, and walk away uncommitted.
Written words change the game. They lock the conversation in place. A two-line follow-up after a chat becomes a timestamp. A shared truth. A trigger for action. Because once it's written, it's real. There's a name. A date. A decision. Suddenly, that “yes” carries weight. Accountability kicks in.
That's why some avoid writing things down. It removes the wiggle room. It kills plausible deniability. But if you're serious about progress - write it. Even if it's rough. Especially if it's uncomfortable. Written words drive the work.
People hide behind them because there's no receipt. No audit trail. No follow-up. Just vibes. Verbal commitments are slippery by design - they give the illusion of agreement without the weight of action. They make it easy to nod, avoid conflict, and walk away uncommitted.
Written words change the game. They lock the conversation in place. A two-line follow-up after a chat becomes a timestamp. A shared truth. A trigger for action. Because once it's written, it's real. There's a name. A date. A decision. Suddenly, that “yes” carries weight. Accountability kicks in.
That's why some avoid writing things down. It removes the wiggle room. It kills plausible deniability. But if you're serious about progress - write it. Even if it's rough. Especially if it's uncomfortable. Written words drive the work.
About Max Antonov
I’m Max, a father of two, Product Director & Product Coach from Sydney. I write about leadership, product management
and life.
Feel free to reach out: [email protected].
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