March 29, 2007Don’t

Filed under: Poison Phrase of the Week by merylrunion |

(From my book PowerPhrases.) Walking down the isle of the seminar room in Amarillo Texas, I said to myself,

- Don’t call it Armadillo.

I opened my mouth in the front of the room and announced,

- I’m glad to be in Armadillo.

My audience did not seem amused.

My mind didn’t hear the “don’t.” That’s why I say PowerPhrases talk more about what you want than what you don’t want.

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1 Comment »

  1. This reminds me of when my children were young. I read in a parenting book that you never say to a child “Don’t do that or you will fall, hurt yourself, or whatever your fear for their action is.” You tell them in a positive tone “Please be careful on the slide, steps, etc” That reminds them that they need to protect themselves, and does not have a self-fulfilling prophecy. I cringe when I observe parents saying, “See, I told you that you would fall and hurt yourself”.
    Always state the positive and not the negative, and the positive action will follow. It works in business as well.

    Comment by Renee — March 29, 2007 @ 12:50 pm

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