Out-positive / Encouragement url
For a friend who invested in a stock that did well and then crashed
- It wasn’t the worst thing in the world.
- You can cope with it.
- You can turn it into a growth and learning experience.
- You can rest assured that if I were in your shoes, I would have done exactly what you did.
- It certainly started off with the bang.
- Don’t worry, hang on tight, it’s going to be all right.
- You’re acting as cool as a cucumber.
- I guess whatever goes up, must come down.
For a friend who invested in a stock that did well and then crashed
Out-neutral / Advice url
Priorities
- First things first.
- Don’t put the cart before the horse.
- Just stick to business.
- Don’t waste your time.
- I think you’re cutting off your nose to spite your face.
- Put your best foot forward.
- Don’t let yourself get sidetracked.
Priorities
Out-neutral / Observation url
About Others – Negative-3
- She’s crying her head off.
- She’s a basket case.
- I think he’s gone bananas, and he’s lost some of his marbles.
- He’s stubborn as a mule.
- She’s cold as a cucumber.
- He has no one to blame but himself.
- He’s an old fuddy-duddy.
- It’s bottled up inside of him.
- They’re at each others throats again.
- When he found out he was white as a sheet.
- I think she’s green with envy.
- A fool and his money are soon parted.
- Misery loves company.
About Others – Negative-3
Out-positive / Concern url
After a friend found out that a mistake he made led to internet identity theft
- I feel bad for you.
- You’ve been taken to the cleaners.
- You left yourself wide open.
- You’re as white as a sheet.
- Your temperature is quite high, and I can feel by your forehead that you’re burning up, so why don’t you just lie down and take it easy for a while until you feel better.
- You’re an old softy.
- Now you’ve really gotten yourself into a pickle.
- I don’t like the sound of this.
- You’re nothing but a push over.
After a friend found out that a mistake he made led to internet identity theft
In-negative / Desperation url
Running away from the Cossacks
- I’m knee deep in alligators.
- I’ve got to get a handle on the situation before it’s too late.
- The people around me are dropping like flies.
- I’m going out of my mind.
- It’s a matter of life and death.
- I’m overcome with fear.
- I just can’t deal with it anymore.
- What going on here?
- I just can’t put up with it any longer.
- It’s every man for himself.
- What else have I got?
Running away from the Cossacks
Out-neutral / Advice url
Perspective-2
- You got to remember that.
- Truth is stranger than fiction.
- Things are not always what they seem.
- The whole is sometimes bigger than the sum of its parts.
- Take stock of your future.
- Try to put yourself in his shoes.
- Don’t take things for granted.
- Saying and doing are entirely different things.
- Live each day as if it were the last.
- Today is all you have.
- You can’t generalize, every situation is different.
Perspective-2
In-negative / Explaining url
Refusing to lie on a tax return to save money
- What did you expect me to do?
- That’s not my style.
- Why should I take the risk?
- I do what I have to do.
- I’m doing it just to be on the safe side.
- It’s taking all my will power to resist.
- I was holding on by a thread.
- I think it's the best thing to do.
- My hands are tied.
- It’s out of my hands.
- I’m conflicted about it.
- I shudder when I think of the downside of doing this.
- I’d rather play it safe.
- It's the right thing to do.
- I just can’t take the chance.
- The risks far outweigh the benefits.
- The way I look at it, I really don’t have much of a choice.
- I can’t see myself doing that.
Refusing to lie on a tax return to save money
In-negative / Confusion url
To someone explaining calculus
- I haven’t the foggiest/slightest/vaguest idea of what you’re talking about.
- I can’t make heads or tails of it.
- I don’t understand.
- Whatever do you mean?
- You’ve got me stumped.
- I don’t know what to make of it.
- It doesn’t make any sense.
- How could that possibly be?
- It’s Greek to me.
To someone explaining calculus
In-negative / Explaining url
After investing in worthless land
- I fell for it hook, line and sinker.
- I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
- I should have known.
- It seemed like the right to do thing at the time.
- It took me totally by surprise.
- I was talked into it.
- The thought that this would be such a bad decision never crossed my mind.
- There’s not a whole lot I can do about it at this point.
- That never would have dawned on me.
- I didn’t see it coming.
- In theory that was how it was supposed to play out, but in actuality that’s not what happened.
- How was I supposed to know that?
- It beats me how that could have happened.
- It was an honest mistake.
- It could happen to anyone.
- I’m sorry that things didn’t work out the way I expected them to.
- I found out the hard way.
- The thought never even crossed my mind.
- That was something I wasn’t even aware of.
- Frankly, it’s just not something I could have anticipated.
- That’s something I just didn’t count on.
- They really took me to the cleaners.
- I must admit, from the beginning the whole thing wasn’t clear to me, and went way over my head.
- I was a sitting duck.
- I was being penny wise and pound foolish.
After investing in worthless land
Out-neutral / Negotiating url
Let’s work things out-2
- May I offer a suggestion?
- One hand washes the other.
- That’s why we’re here.
- What do we have to lose?
- One for all and all for one.
- I’m saying this for your ears and your ears only, and I hope it doesn’t go beyond the two of us: mum’s the word.
- No strings attached.
- It’s a two way street.
- That’s no big deal.
- You know very well that I take this very seriously and that I can be trusted to keep under wraps what you just told me in confidence.
- It will all sink in eventually, when this is all behind us.
- We can work it out.
Let’s work things out-2
Out-neutral / Advice url
Trust me
- I won’t steer you wrong.
- Please take my advice.
- I’ll know when the time is right.
- Heed what I am saying.
- Do as I say, not as I do.
- Take a tip from me.
- That’s a solemn promise.
- Now pay attention to what I’m trying to tell you, and I want your undivided attention.
- Mark my words that as sure as I’m standing here, what I’m saying is the honest truth.
- Just stick with me.
Trust me
Out-positive / Friendship url
Saying hello-1
- So what else is new?
- So we meet again.
- I’m so glad to see you.
- What’s up Doc?
- Well, isn’t it a small world?
- How goes it?
- Top of the morning to you.
- What a nice surprise!
- How’s everything going?
- What’s up?
- What’s new?
- What a pleasant surprise.
Saying hello-1