It’s about time we start giving friends and family the same respect and motivational prowess we give coworkers and employees. The ingenious word choices we make in the boardroom have pizazz and stamina. At home, it gets watered down to a dull “I’m sorry,” “thank you,” and “I love you.” Here are some examples on how to up your game.

Breakups

“If you want my two cents, the opportunity cost is too high. Conceptually, I like where this is headed, but when the rubber hits the road, I don’t think this relationship has its ducks in a row.”

Encouragement

“In the game of coloring, you have to go big or go home. From where I stand, you have unrealized potential to move the needle in crayon choice, but you’re showing real innovation.”

Anniversary

“The value proposition of this relationship has always been a win-win situation for me. I’m glad we saw a window of opportunity during a low point in both our lives to leverage our desperation into a holistic match.”

Bereavement

“From 30,000 feet, you could say Grandpa lived a robust life. But at the end of the day, life doesn’t always pan out. Grandapa—I’ll circle back in the afterlife.”

Baptism

“I don’t really have a horse in this race, being an atheist, but I think it’s good to incentivize children to keep a moral compass top-of-mind. I wish you the best in future-proofing your sons’ life choices.”

Gratitude

“I just wanted to touch base on the messaging you sent with your cookies. I’m sorry we missed an opportunity to interface in person, but please know that your baked goods saw a lot of usage.”

Birthday

“Congratulations on taking your age to the next level. I wanted to optimize this yearly touchpoint to encourage a paradigm shift in how you approach life going forward by enclosing a copy of The Likeability Factor.”

Mothers’ Day

“Thank you for being the best-of-breed mother one could hope for. You have a core competency for Thanksgiving dinners and your proprietary gravy can really be utilized on all my favorite side dishes.”

Congratulations

“I know there were a lot of pain points on the way to this promotion, but you really gave 110% to all the moving parts, and knocked it out of the park.”

Christmas

“This year, let us circle the wagons and reimagine the multifaceted meaning of the season. With all the focus on commerce, we forget the to drill down to the real c-suite: chief virgin, chief carpenter, the three wise constituents, and of course the main deliverable: Baby Jesus.”