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by: KenrickCleveland
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Seems like some of my readers are paying attention and that's awesome. I wrote part one of this article a while back. It talks about eight common and avoidable pitfalls we have in language. In the article I wrote about 'but', 'if', 'try', and 'might' and how these words dilute the power of our language and dull our ability to persuade. Well, a few of my more observant readers noticed that if there are eight pitfalls and I only cited four, there must be four more traps out there with the potential to hurt us. Some readers went so far as to suggest I did this to demonstrate another persuasive technique--open loops.

Whether it was intentional or not, it seems to have worked with several folks enough for them to call up my assistant and e-mail me asking for the other four.

So for those of you who have been glued to your computers awaiting part two of "Linguistical Pitfalls", your anticipation is both appreciated and a little strange.

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

The problem with these phrases is that they're all in past tense. While this doesn't seem on the surface to be problematic, they can have a seriously negative impact on your persuasion message.

Generally, you want to be leading people into the present time so they can and will act right now. We don't want their heads in the past, we want them with us. To borrow a phrase from Ram Dass, we need them to "be here now." The present is where we're selling, the present is where they're buying.

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.

So now that you've gotten part two, are you happy?

About the Author

Kenrick Cleveland teaches techniques to earn the business of wealthy clients using persuasion. He runs public and private seminars and offers home study courses and coaching programs in persuasion techniques.

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