Exactly What to Say: The Magic Words for Influence and Impact
Highlights
Opening Words
If you are looking for examples of where your subconscious has served you, here are some simple ones:
Controlling your breathing while you sleep. Assisting your routine on a familiar journey. Allowing your attention to be immediately drawn to anything that resembles your name.
- I’m Not Sure If It’s for You, But
Opening a statement with the words, “I’m not sure if it’s for you,” causes the listener’s subconscious brain to hear, “There’s no pressure here.” By suggesting that they may not be interested, you naturally increase their intrigue. They wonder what “it” is, and this spike in curiosity hooks them. What’s more, it fires an internal driver that tells them a decision needs to be made, and the soft approach ensures this decision feels unpressured and internal.
The real magic, though, is delivered through the final three-letter word of this sequence, a word that typically should be avoided in all conversations: the word “but.”
- I’m Not Sure If It’s for You, But
Imagine receiving a comment from your employer that started with the words, “You know that you’re a really valuable member of the team. We love everything that you do here, but some things need to change.” What’s the only part you would remember? I am guessing the part that you would focus on most is everything that follows “but.” The word “but” negates everything that was said prior, so when you say to somebody, “I’m not sure if it’s for you, but…,” what the little voice inside your listener’s head hears is, “You might want to look at this.”
- I’m Not Sure If It’s for You, But
When you say to somebody, “I’m not sure if it’s for you, but.. .,” the little voice inside your listener’s head hears, “You might want to look at this.”