In-neutral / Acceptance url
Buying a car
- I dropped a bundle on it, but I’m glad I bought it.
- The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.
- How can I resist?
- I might as well.
- You never get something for nothing.
- It’s growing on me.
- It’s the best that I can do.
Buying a car
In-negative / Disappointment url
Getting a speeding ticket
- I have no one to blame but myself.
- I need that like a hole in the head.
- That’s what I was afraid of.
- That’s the last thing I wanted.
- What a shame!
- That’s just my luck.
- It happens to the best of us.
- But I don’t have to like it, do I?
Getting a speeding ticket
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-positive / Apology url
After a boss tells a worker that management won’t let him give the worker an expected raise
- I only wish I could have done more.
- I did the best I could.
- I’m sorry, my hands are tied.
- It might not make any sense to you, but that’s what they decided, and I hope you understand.
- I’m sorry that it’s not the answer you hoped for.
- My apologies that it took me longer to get the answer than I thought it would.
- I hope that we’ll be able to give you a better answer next time.
- I’m hoping this is something you can live with for the time being.
- I was told to explain to you that it’s due to circumstances beyond their control.
- Please give us a chance to make it up to you next time.
After a boss tells a worker that management won’t let him give the worker an expected raise
Out-neutral / Advice url
Open up
- Get it all out in the open.
- Just let it all out.
- Get it all out of your system once and for all.
- Don’t keep your feelings inside.
- Cry your heart out.
- Your feelings are all bottled up.
Open up
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
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
Out-neutral / Advice url
Let it go
- Don’t prolong the agony.
- Get your mind off the subject.
- Let yourself go.
- Let it all hang out.
- Don’t dwell on it.
- Go with the flow.
- Let it flow freely.
- Put it all behind you.
- The best thing is to roll with the punches.
- A watched pot never boils.
Let it go
In-negative / Confusion url
Trying to understand current events
- Can you help me figure out what’s going on?
- I don’t know who to believe anymore.
- Frankly, none of this make sense.
- I’m totally baffled.
- I don’t have a clue about what is going on.
- I’m totally dumbfounded.
- It puzzles me.
- I don’t know what to make of it.
- What do you make of it?
- What does it all mean?
- How has it come to this?
Trying to understand current events
In-positive / Confidence url
Starting a new job
- I’m going straight to the top.
- I have what it takes.
- I’ll get the hang of it.
- Things are going my way.
- I know where it’s at.
- I’m perfectly capable of doing it.
- I’m getting the hang of it.
- It’s going ahead as planned.
- You can rest assured that everything will be taken care of, and that everything will exceed your expectations.
Starting a new job
In-positive / Surprise url
A friend becomes president of the company
- Goodness gracious.
- Well what do you know?
- It’s too good to be true.
- For goodness sakes.
- For heaven’s sake.
- It took us all by surprise.
A friend becomes president of the company
Out-positive / Encouragement url
To a High School student who won the science fair
- You’re a real expert.
- That needed out of the box thinking, and you rose to the occasion.
- You should be proud of the fact that you did it all by yourself, with almost no help from anyone else.
- You just scratched the surface of what you can accomplish.
- I guess you’re curious about what makes things tick.
- It’s right up your alley.
To a High School student who won the science fair