How to Coach Yourself and Others How to Influence, Persuade and Motivate | Page 275

Words are more powerful when they have strong emotional connotations.
You want your words to be clear and credible, but they will have greater
impact if they also strike an emotional chord within your audience. You
can avoid being melodramatic or sensational by being sure that your
words truly reflect the circumstances and that they can always be backed
up.
You can even package simple derogatory comments. Sure, you can call
someone dumb or stupid, but when you can verbally package something,
this is what you get:
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Dumber than a box of hair
Got into the gene pool while the lifeguard wasn't watching
If brains were taxed, he'd get a rebate
All foam, no beer
Sharp as a marble
Too much yardage between the goal posts
Her antenna doesn't pick up all the channels
No grain in the silo
Forgot to pay his brain bill
Studied for a blood test and failed
Gates are down, the lights are flashing, but the train isn't coming
The wheel is spinning, but the hamster's dead

Simple but Powerful Words
We know certain words have more pull than others, but who would have
thought that simple words like "because" and "you" would have the power
to move mountains? In a study by Langer, Blank, and Chanowitz,
researchers found certain word choices could influence people to act
against their own self-interests. The researcher would approach a copier
where a long line of students stood. She would try three different word
choices at different times to see how the other students would respond to
each request. She didn't change what she was asking, only the word
choice. When she said, "Excuse me, I only have five pages. May I use the
copy machine because I am in a rush?" 94 percent complied. When she
said, "Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the copy machine?" 60
percent complied. But when she said, "Excuse me, I have five pages. May
I use the copy machine because I have to make some copies?" 93 percent
complied.[7]
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