When you use the word but in the middle of a sentence, it tends to negate whatever came before. That doesn’t mean you should never do it, because sometimes it’s exactly the effect you want. When you don’t want to downplay the first part of the sentence, try replacing but with and. Here are some examples of how this works.

Your report is well written, but the section on new products needs some work. (Negative effect.)

Your report is well written, and just a little bit of tweaking will bring the new products section up to the same standard. Let’s talk about how you can do that. (Positive, encouraging effect.)

I know our product is expensive, and it comes with more service than any competitive products on the market. (Still thinking about the price tag.)

I know our product is expensive, but when you consider the high level and range of services it includes, you’ll see the price is low in relation to the value. (Thinking about the value.)

So choose between and and but based on where you want to put the emphasis.

In a famous psychological experiment, on three different occasions throughout one day a woman approached a line-up of people waiting to use a photo copier: her assignment was to see if they would allow her to go to the front of the line. The first time she just asked if she could go first, and was refused (no word of the actual phrases used, but you can imagine!) The second time, she asked if she could go first because she was doing an urgent task for the president of the company. This time she was grudgingly allowed in. The really interesting result was the third one, in which she asked to go first simply “because I have to make some copies.” Note, that’s exactly why everyone else was there — but they let her go first! That’s the power of because. Sometimes you just need to use the word to get the results you need, even though it may not be logical.

In the upcoming Wilkie Webinar, I’ll be teaching participants how to use these words, as well as other language patterns and the psychological laws of influence, to exert  influence they never knew they had. Can you imagine how useful that would be to you in your job? Get the details and sign up now on the Wilkie Webinars section of my updated website at mhwcom.com

Today I’m giving you the link to a very interesting article that discusses an experiment done by a group of scientists who wanted to study the effect of all that information coming at us from all directions, all the time. Their findings are thought provoking. One of their conclusions is that not all technology is of equal value to us, and some is more damaging than beneficial. Thus, as the article says, some technology is Twinkies and some is Brussels sprouts! Intrigued? Here’s the link:

Minnesota Public Radio

I don’t know how long it will be there, so if you’d like to read it I suggest you have a look at it soon. As always, of course, I’d value your comments here on Communi-keys.

If you’ve never visited my MHW Communications website, you won’t know that there is a selection of my articles there on various aspects of communication at work. For example, here are just a few of the titles:

Are You in Breach of the Communication Contract?
Communicate and Prosper (originally published in The Globe and Mail)
Leadership and Communication: the Broken Connection
Don’t Squander Your Presentation Opportunity
Encouraging the Conversation

I’ll be putting more articles on the site, so if you liked these I encourage you to check back often.

Guidance for the Newly Promoted

If you are a recently promoted manager, or if you work with one, you’ll get some useful insights from both Tom and me on how to use the first 30 days to get you off to a good start. Please tell any of your friends or colleagues who could benefit from this information.

I’d love to hear what you thought of the interview, and your comments on what I had to say.