The Final Four: Linguistic Pitfalls Part Two

Well. . .it seems like some of my readers have been paying careful attention. I like that. A while back I wrote an article about the eight most common avoidable pitfalls in language--but, if, try and might. Hey, that's not eight! What are the other four? Several people commented on my blog that I was utilizing the open loop method of persuasion by saying there were eight, and only revealing four. Was this intentional? Maybe.

The open loop, whether intentional or not, seemed to have worked as my assistant was e-mailed and even received one phone call wanting to know the other four.

So if you've been glued to your computer waiting for part two, I appreciate your anticipation.

Would have, could have and should have. . . woulda, coulda, shoulda, if you prefer.

These three phrases are all past tense which in and of itself isn't a problem, but for persuasion purposes, they have a negative impact on our message.

Keeping our prospects and clients present with us is a huge part of persuasion. We don't want to push them into their heads, into the past, with what could, would or should have been. We want them to "be here now", with us selling to them now, and them buying now.

A lot of time this sort of nostalgic allows people to spin off into regret and whining, 'I should have done this. I could have had this. I would have been so much better off. . . '

Last but not least. . .

Can't. When we 'can't', we are defeated. Can't is a negation and poses a persuasion hazard in that it has the potential to cancel out all that we have worked for. I had a teacher in high school who forbade us to use the word 'can't' and I only fully understood why when I started teaching.

If you were to say, "You can't use negations", this forces your mind to first picture using negations then in some way negating that picture.

When you say, 'I can't sleep', what happens? Well, first off, you definitely can't sleep.

When you use a negation, it forces the mind to think about exactly what you do not want it to think about. Having your prospects creating a mental imagine of what you want them to do is the goal here--not having them negate the imagines.

Words like "can't" create the very image you don't want the person to make.

There are some very powerful and creative ways to use negation -- just be careful that you use it properly or not at all until you're comfortable with it.

Now you can sleep well at night having received part two of linguistical pitfalls.

Kenrick Cleveland teaches techniques to sell to affluent clients using persuasion strategies. He runs unique public and private seminars and offers home study courses, audio/visual learning tools, and coaching programs in persuasion techniques. Find more free articles at www.MAXpersuasion.com/blog. Be sure to sign up for his free report entitled "Yes! Persuasion."