February 10, 2009Poison Phrase ~ I will fight for you
I was talking with a woman at the BPW Legislative Conference about how people come out with guns blazing when a conversation gets political. She mentioned a candidate whose slogan was;
- I will fight for you.
“Why fight?” this lady asked. “Why not strategize, work, advocate, negotiate and collaborate for my interests?”
City Councillor Faith Winter spoke at the BPW conference for an hour about how the political process works. Clearly there’s a whole lot more to getting results than fighting.
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If somebody slanders me or gossips about me, I want my friends to fight for me. If somebody questions my integrity or honesty, I want my friends to fight for me. There are other times when I want my friends to fight for me because I’m unable to fight for myself.
I pray that I will have the courage to fight for my friends in similar situations.
Maybe “I’ll fight for you” is also a power phrase. It depends on the circumstance and whose doing the fighting.
Bob
Comment by Bob Huss — February 11, 2009 @ 1:53 pm
You’re right, Bob, that many Poison Phrases are PowerPhrases in a different contexts. This lady’s concern was that we start with the fight when there are so many ways to get results. Sometimes networking, advocating, seeking first to understand and/or a gentle correcting of the record is far more effective than to go in with guns blazing.
A PowerPhrase is as strong as it needs to be and no stronger. Excessive force creates blowback. But the right amount of strength gets results. If we’re looking for a fight, we’re likely to get one. If we can stand up for ourselves and each other without a fight, all the better.
Perhaps the real question here is, what do you mean and what do I mean by a fight? A friend of mine is fighting for her marriage…by listening, talking, asking for what she wants and doing the things that make her hubby feel loved. If someone told me they’d fight for me and that’s what they meant, I’d really consider it a PowerPhrase!
Comment by merylrunion — February 11, 2009 @ 2:21 pm
I like a candidate who will fight for me – it sure beats having the candidate fight against me. I see no trouble with having a candidate who will fight for me, and if need be – with me.
I want a candidate who will stand with me, stand up for me, stand up to the opposition, and back me up.
I’d also like said candidate to “strategize, work, advocate, negotiate and collaborate for my interests”.
I want it all in a candidate – I want my candidate to speak for me on all the levels that I think. My perfect candidate might very well “fight, advocate, collaborate, delegate, negotiate, and work” for me. If a candidate can do all that – then that candidate probably has my vote.
Not every candidate needs to say “I will fight for you” in order to get my vote, but if a candidate uses that phrase and happens to have activity to back it up, then that gives the candidate credibility in my mind. It tells me the candidate is willing to tackle the tough stuff.
For me – “I will fight for you” is a Power Phrase. It inspires me to say, “why thank-you Mr. or Ms. Candidate.”
Comment by kym — February 12, 2009 @ 6:32 pm