Stop at the But! (And Other Lessons)

Winners find solutions. Losers make excuses.

When presenting business development programs, I ask people to identify words they should permanently delete from their vocabulary. One day when doing a training session, I asked the group why the word “but” should be removed from their word repertoire.

A young man quickly raised his hand and said, “People who use the word ‘but’ usually have an excuse following it.”

Was he ever right!

“But” can act as a sound barrier for many people. When used, it can give the impression that whatever was said before it is being negated.

Another word to avoid using with prospects, clients, and anyone for that matter is “yeah.” “Yeah” is perceived as a sloppy word and should be replaced ...

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