In-negative / Explaining url
Coming late for an appointment
- I just plum forgot.
- It slipped my mind.
- Forgive me, I just didn’t remember.
- I didn’t do it on purpose.
- I hope you understand.
- Please don’t take it personally.
- I knew I forgot something.
- I’ve been burning the candle at both ends.
- I’ve been crazy busy lately.
- I have a lot on my plate.
- The time just slipped through my fingers.
- I just have no sense of time.
Coming late for an appointment
In-neutral / Acceptance url
Finding a parking place 5 blocks from the restaurant
- This is a good place as any.
- It’s certainly not what we hoped for, but it’s better than nothing.
- I think we don’t have much of a choice.
- That’s good enough for me.
- That’s to be expected.
- That’s just the way it’s going to have to be then.
Finding a parking place 5 blocks from the restaurant
Out-neutral / Advice url
Restraint-3
- Loose lips sink ships.
- Don’t get all worked up.
- Take it easy!
- Keep it under wraps.
- Don’t spill the beans.
- Grab a hold of yourself, don’t you have any self-control?
- Keep it to yourself.
- Don’t go overboard.
- You can’t take the law into your own hands.
- You got a good thing going, and I wouldn’t drop it so fast if I were you.
- Let it drop.
Restraint-3
In-positive / Confidence url
Given a new assignment at work
- I should have no trouble accomplishing the task.
- This will be one more feather in my cap.
- I know everything there is to know about it.
- It’s a piece of cake.
- Consider it done.
- I’ve done it once, and I can do it again.
- That’ll be no problem whatsoever.
- I can knock that off in no time flat.
- I can get through this in no time at all.
- I know where it’s at.
- Now we're getting into a whole new territory.
- That’s very do-able.
- That will be carried out to the letter.
- That’s as easy as pie.
- I’m going to get it done in two seconds flat.
- My head is still above water.
Given a new assignment at work
In-negative / Doubt url
Being told you should convince the company president to change policy
- That’s like the tail wagging the dog.
- That’s not the way to go about doing it.
- I don’t think that will work out so well.
- He won’t go for that.
- It might have just the opposite from the intended effect.
- The effort could boomerang on our heads.
- He might not take it the right way.
- You’ve got to be kidding!
- It’s not worth it.
Being told you should convince the company president to change policy
In-positive / Determination url
Manager of sales
- What are we waiting for?
- Strike while the iron is hot.
- We shouldn’t let this opportunity slip through our fingers.
- Let me make myself crystal clear.
- We have to take our chances.
- Let’s just get the ball rolling.
- That settles it.
- We’re off to a flying start.
- Even though in the short run it may be very difficult, in the long run it has the highest chances of success.
- Let’s take the ball and run with it.
- Oh well, it's back to the drawing board.
- You can’t put me off for another minute.
- We got off to a rip-roaring start.
- There’s no I in team.
- There's nothing that we can't accomplish if we put our minds to it.
- We can come up to speed in no time at all.
- We’re making up for lost time.
- Let's push it over the top.
- The goal is well within our reach.
- We have to be on the top of our game, and not get lulled into complacency.
Manager of sales
Out-neutral / Negotiating url
Express your viewpoint
- Speak now or forever hold your peace.
- You go right ahead.
- Speak for yourself.
- Shoot from the hip.
- Why didn’t you say something?
- Put your money where your mouth is.
- That’s your opinion.
- You can talk to your heart’s content.
- Cat got your tongue?
- Judge for yourself.
- You’re a free agent.
- If you’ve get something to say, say it.
- Run it by me again.
- Come on, out with it.
Express your viewpoint
Out-positive / Concern url
To a friend who just lost a lot of their money in the stock market
- I’m sorry it didn’t pan out.
- I think your nest-egg was your security blanket, and now you’ll just have to pick up the pieces and go on from here.
- This puts you in a terrible position.
- I don’t envy you.
- That’s such a shame.
- You look like you’ve seen a ghost.
- You might have to start over from square one.
- You’ll need all the help that you can get.
- After such an experience, it might turn out that you’ll never be the same.
- You shouldn’t have put all your eggs in one basket.
- It’s written all over your face.
- You’re lucky that it wasn’t much worse than it was.
To a friend who just lost a lot of their money in the stock market
Out-positive / Friendship url
Stating friendship-2
- You’re my flesh and blood.
- I can feel that we are on the same wavelength.
- We’re on the same page.
- I feel that we resonate, and I can see it in your eyes.
- You’ve been with us for so long that you’ve become like one of the family.
- Any friend of yours is a friend of mine.
- The time we spend together feels so right.
- I’m telling how I feel you straight from the heart.
- You know how to get on my good side.
Stating friendship-2
Out-neutral / Negotiating url
Let’s make a deal
- Let’s get down to business.
- Let’s mend our fences.
- Let get down to brass tacks.
- We can see eye to eye.
- Make me an offer I can’t refuse.
- Let’s split the difference.
- I’ll take you up on it.
- Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty.
- Let’s put our heads together and do our best to get to come up with something.
- I’ll make it worth your while!
- On second thought, maybe I will reconsider your generous offer.
- Let’s go through with the deal.
Let’s make a deal
Out-negative / Anger url
You disgust me
- What you did really turns my stomach.
- You make me sick!
- You’re one of nature’s greatest disasters.
- I’m not even going to honor your insulting comment with a reply.
- You’re a wise guy.
- You’re more trouble than your worth.
- You really get on my nerves.
You disgust me
In-neutral / Acceptance url
Choosing an item from the menu
- It’s six of one or half a dozen of the other.
- I guess I just can’t have it both ways.
- At one point I have to bite the bullet.
- At one point you just have to fish or cut bait.
Choosing an item from the menu