credible-claims-and-safe-authority

Credible Claims and Safe Authority Skill

Purpose

Use authority, numbers, and institutional credibility without exaggerating or creating legal, ethical, or reputational risk.

Claim Safety Ladder

From safest to riskiest:

1. Direct factual claim
   • "Built and deployed X."
2. Quantified but bounded claim
   • "Surfaced 770 addressable hours."
3. Shared-outcome claim
   • "Helped the team maintain velocity."
4. Inference claim
   • "This suggests a higher-leverage roadmap."
5. Borrowed authority claim
   • "Adapted from public guidance by X."
6. Endorsement-like claim
   • "X recommends this." Only use if explicitly true.

Use Careful Language For

Addressable Opportunity vs Guaranteed Savings

Say:

surfaced 770 addressable hours

Avoid:

saved 770 hours

unless the hours were actually saved.

Team Outcomes

Say:

helped maintain team velocity

Avoid:

single-handedly maintained team velocity

unless that is provably true.

Institutional Authority

Say:

at a World Economic Forum-recognized AI scale-up

Avoid:

World Economic Forum-backed

unless backed is accurate.

Inspired by Credible People

Say:

adapted from practices learned from a senior engineering lead

Avoid:

Google's official method

unless it is official.

Quote Usage

When using quotes:

• Keep excerpts short.
• Use brackets [...] to omit irrelevant parts.
• Preserve meaning.
• Attribute clearly.
• Do not make a quote sound broader than it is.

Checklist

• Is every number explainable?
• Could a former colleague agree the claim is fair?
• Is borrowed authority framed as origin/context, not endorsement?
• Are "helped," "solo-built," and "led" used precisely?
• Does the claim stay impressive without becoming misleading?