Out-positive / Agreement url
Can I have your second scoop of ice cream?
- The rest is more than enough for me.
- No problem.
- I don’t mind at all.
- That’s fine by me.
- It’s my pleasure.
- Be my guest.
Can I have your second scoop of ice cream?
Out-negative / Anger url
I will stop you-2
- Wait till I get my hands on you.
- See you in court.
- I’m going to put your lights out.
- I won’t let you.
- I’m putting you on notice.
- You just wait and see.
- Over my dead body.
- I won’t stand for it.
- I’m not going to take any guff from you.
- I’m not going to let you get away with that.
I will stop you-2
Out-positive / Concern url
After a friend just found out he’s been fired from his job
- My heart goes out to you.
- Tomorrow is another day.
- There’s always hope.
- Things are tough all over.
- I’m sorry to hear that.
- That’s a crying shame.
- I know what this means to you.
- I’m sure you’ll recover from this, slowly but surely.
- Who knows, perhaps in the long run this could be the best thing that ever happened to you.
- You look down in the dumps.
- I don’t envy you.
After a friend just found out he’s been fired from his job
In-negative / Disappointment url
Losing money in a scam
- I had a sneaking suspicion that it was too good to be true.
- What is the world coming to?
- I wasn’t thinking straight.
- I’ll be the first to admit, what I did wasn’t too bright.
- Is nothing sacred?
- There’s something rotten in the state of Denmark.
- It stinks to high heaven.
- I should be ashamed of myself.
- I’m old enough to know better.
- It killed my appetite.
- How did I get into this mess?
- That was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
- I feel used, betrayed, and double-crossed.
- Boy, now I’m really in a pickle.
- They really took me to the cleaners.
- I’m down in the dumps.
- It's taken the wind out of my sails.
Losing money in a scam
In-negative / Doubt url
To friend who claims he knows how to win the lottery
- The chances of that happening are pretty close to zero.
- How do you figure that?
- You don’t say?
- Don’t count on it.
- You can’t mean that.
- It doesn’t work that way.
- That’s what they all say.
- How can you be so cock-sure of yourself?
- It’s all in your head.
- It’s not very likely to happen that way.
- It’s about time you started being realistic.
- Wake up and smell the coffee.
To friend who claims he knows how to win the lottery
Out-neutral / Advice url
Examine-2
- Get both sides of the story.
- There’s more to it than that.
- There’s more to it that meets the eye.
- Take note of it.
- Get to the root of the problem.
- Keep your eyes peeled.
- You’ll see.
- A picture is worth a thousand words
Examine-2
In-neutral / Acceptance url
Being offered a job
- Now that’s an offer I can’t refuse.
- It’s better late than never.
- I’ll buy that.
- All’s well that ends well.
- If the shoes fits wear it.
- That works out best all around.
Being offered a job
Out-negative / Anger url
You will regret this
- You’ll be sorry.
- You can dish it out but you can’t take it.
- You’ll pay for this.
- You can’t get away with that.
- You had it coming to you.
- You deserve everything you get.
You will regret this
Out-neutral / Negotiating url
I find your viewpoint hard to understand-1
- That’s wishful thinking.
- That’s neither here nor there.
- That leads us right back to where we started.
- Is that too much to ask?
- That’s beside the point.
- Now that’s a horse of a different color.
- You’re missing the point.
- You’ve missed the whole point.
- That’s not the same thing at all.
- It happens to be true whether you choose to believe or not.
- Put it whatever way you want.
- I wasn’t born yesterday.
I find your viewpoint hard to understand-1
In-positive / Determination url
Manager with a new employee
- The early bird catches the worm.
- I won’t take no for an answer.
- Let’s skip the formalities, and cut to the chase.
- I'm going to get right down to brass tacks.
- Let’s get a move on it.
- A word to the wise is sufficient.
- It’s just not done that way around here.
- Do whatever it is you have to do.
Manager with a new employee
In-negative / Explaining url
Throwing out a bag of laundry by mistake
- How was I supposed to know?
- What did I do this time?
- That never would have occurred to me.
- I wish I had known.
- I had no way of knowing.
- OK, I’m not perfect.
- I apologize profusely.
- It was totally unintentional.
- There’s nothing I can do about it now.
- My humble apologies.
- Sorry about that.
- If I knew what I was doing, I certainly wouldn’t have done it.
- I certainly didn’t do it on purpose.
- They looked so similar that I had no way of knowing.
- It came as a surprise to me.
- I’m awfully sorry.
- How was I supposed to know that?
Throwing out a bag of laundry by mistake
In-neutral / Caution url
Thinking of taking a high interest loan
- What am I getting myself into this time?
- I hope that this is not something that I will live to regret.
- I have to ask myself, is it worth it?
- If I’m mistaken, things could all come tumbling down.
- I should know better than that.
- There’s got to be an easier way.
- Don’t do anything precipitously that you can’t easily undo.
- I could end up in trouble up to my ears.
- I shouldn’t get myself involved with something that I can’t get out of.
- Let’s cool our heels, and be patient and wait to see what happens.
- I should have realized from the very beginning that it’s important not to spend a lot more than you earn if you don’t want to end up being saddled with a lot of debt - and now it doesn't look as if I have any good options to choose from.
Thinking of taking a high interest loan