Openness
What it means
Readiness to share honestly or consider new people, ideas, and possibilities.
Reach for it when praising transparent communication or receptive attention
The team's openness to local knowledge changed the final design.
Words to choose between 6
| everyday | |
|---|---|
| warm |
|
| professional | |
| formal |
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everyday
Fits when plans can change for good reasons
Careful Flexibility may be tactical rather than open judgment.
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everyday
frankness
Fits when plain speaking is valued
Careful Frankness can sound severe where openness feels invitational.
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warm
Fits when interest motivates engagement
Careful Curiosity can coexist with fixed conclusions.
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professional
Fits when ideas receive a genuine hearing
Careful Receptiveness does not promise sharing one's own thinking.
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professional
Fits when information and decisions can be examined
Careful Transparency is procedural, not emotional honesty.
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formal
Fits when truthful speech is direct despite discomfort
Careful Candor may be blunt and need not share the full process.
Opposites 3
- secrecy
- defensiveness
- closed-mindedness
Common phrases 3
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openness about mistakes
Openness about mistakes helped every workshop improve its checklist.
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openness to change
Her openness to change kept the old building useful.
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spirit of openness
A spirit of openness made room for quieter opinions.
Word family 2
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Flame, not lame, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC0 Updated