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
Out-neutral / Negotiating url
I’m trying to see your viewpoint-3
- That’s the first sensible thing you’ve said all day.
- Tell me something I don’t already know.
- I know where you’re at.
- Don’t keep me in the dark.
- What do you mean by that?
- Why do you say that?
- Tell me in layman’s terms.
- How can you say that?
- What do you think about it?
- What makes you say that?
- There’s nothing good you can say about it?
- What does that have to do with it?
- Is that what you’re driving at?
- I don’t know if I’ve answered your question or not.
- I’m bending over backwards to see things your way.
I’m trying to see your viewpoint-3
In-negative / Desperation url
Losing a lot of money in the stock market
- They’ve got the deck stacked against us.
- I’ve been cut off at the knees.
- So much of the time I feel that I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t.
- I’m behind the eight ball.
- Boy, was that a mistake.
- Back to the salt mines.
- I feel like I’ve been raked over the coals.
- I’m running out of steam.
Losing a lot of money in the stock market
Out-neutral / Negotiating url
You will win
- I’m at your mercy.
- You saw through me.
- You’ve got me in the palm of your hand.
- I’ve painted myself into a corner that I can’t get out of.
- OK, I give in, you win, what’s next?
- You’re making out like a bandit.
- You have me over a barrel.
You will win
Out-neutral / Advice url
Perspective-1
- You don’t know what’s in another person’s head until you’re standing in his shoes.
- It shouldn’t be taken lightly.
- You had it right the first time.
- Would that be the worst thing in the world?
- There’s nothing new under the sun.
- We’ve got our whole life ahead of us.
- See what a difference it makes?
- That’s all that matters.
- Don’t give it a second thought.
- There are exceptions to every rule.
- If you want my two cents, here is how I see it.
Perspective-1
Out-neutral / Negotiating url
We are adversaries
- It’s every man for himself.
- Let’s face it, we’re on opposite sides of the fence.
- I’m not willing to wait.
- I beg to differ with you.
- You give me no choice.
- It’s a dog eat dog world.
- I’m just acting in my own best interest, and I expect you to do the same.
- May the best man win!
- That goes both ways.
- That’s for me to know and you to find out.
- I’m ready to play hardball.
- Take it or leave it.
- Don’t ask me any questions and I won’t tell you any lies.
- I’m dead set against it.
- I need the whole kit and caboodle.
- All’s fair in love and war.
We are adversaries
In-positive / Determination url
Director of a Broadway musical
- This is one of the most important things we’ve ever done.
- Let’s get going without delay!
- Give me a half of chance, and I’ll show you what I can accomplish.
- Let’s get the ball rolling.
- Let’s get the show on the road.
- The show must go on.
Director of a Broadway musical
In-neutral / Caution url
A publisher given a story that might be libelous
- I just can’t chance it.
- I’m going to treat it with kid gloves.
- It could blow sky high.
- Let’s not rush into things.
- I may be sitting on a time bomb.
- One option is for is for me to just wait it out.
- I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.
- It’s best if I wait until the whole thing blows over.
- I just don’t feel like bucking the system.
- I’m inclined to just tiptoe around the whole situation.
- I think if I got involved in any way I would be playing with fire.
- My gut feeling is that I should just leave it well enough alone.
- The fact that no one else wants to do it is not a good sign.
- I don't know the person involved from a hole in the wall, and I think I should regard that as a warning signal.
A publisher given a story that might be libelous
Out-neutral / Advice url
Accept it-2
- You brought it on yourself.
- Start facing the facts.
- Profit from the experience.
- You have to make the best of it.
- Put the entire situation behind you.
- You can’t have everything.
- It the shoe fits wear it.
- Just accept it on face value.
- There’s nothing you can do about it.
- Forgive and forget.
- You asked for it.
- We can try to do things differently in the future, but it’s too late now to change what already happened.
- When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
- Try to make the best of a bad situation.
- Better luck next time.
Accept it-2
In-negative / Desperation url
Can’t pay the mortgage
- Things have gotten totally out of hand.
- I’m having trouble making ends meet.
- What am I going to do?
- Sometimes I feel that it's all going to be downhill from here.
- I hope I haven’t blown it.
- Nowadays, it’s hard to make ends meet.
- I’m hanging by a thread.
- If this goes on I’m going to lose my mind.
- I was up all night worrying about it.
- I feel down and out.
- Sometimes I tell myself, ‘Don’t even bother’.
- When I hope that things will get better, I realize: don’t hold your breath.
- I feel like I’m beating a dead horse.
Can’t pay the mortgage
Out-negative / Anger url
I see that you are bad
- What do you take me for?
- Do you take me for a fool?
- Don’t play me for a fool.
- You’re as spoiled as a rotten egg.
- Have you got something up your sleeve?
- I don’t like what’s going down.
- The whole situation makes me sick to my stomach.
- You’re an accident looking for a place to happen.
- You rub me the wrong way.
- You’re a disgrace to humanity.
- You should be ashamed of yourself!
- You are down right pathetic.
- I had the feeling you’re up to something.
- You’re lying through your teeth.
- That’s a bald faced lie.
- I bet your plan is the stab me in the back when I’m not expecting it.
- How can anyone in his right mind do something like what you just did.
I see that you are bad
In-neutral / Caution url
Invited to a party the night before an exam
- I’m dead set against it.
- Am I making a big mistake?
- I have a funny feeling that I’ve been through this before.
- All that glitters is not gold.
- I don’t know if I’ll should do this on such short notice.
- I can easily see where this is heading.
- It’s a waste of time.
- I should know better than that.
- Have I taken leave of my senses?
- Is it worth it?
- I’ve learned my lesson before, and I promised myself that I wouldn’t repeat that mistake again.
- That's not for now.
Invited to a party the night before an exam