| In Northern Canada there are two seasons, winter | | | | pop-off comments and thought they were clever. |
| and July. When the back roads thaw in July they get | | | | We adopted them into our speech patterns. But |
| muddy. Trucks traveling the back roads leave deep | | | | what you thought was clever may sound mean or |
| ruts that become frozen when winter returns. When | | | | smart-aleck to others. That favorite expression so |
| you enter the backwoods you are greeted by a sign | | | | carelessly thrown out could live on to haunt you for |
| that says, "Drivers, please choose carefully which ruts | | | | life. |
| you drive in, because you'll be in it for the next | | | | SO WHAT'S THE SOLUTION? As Mark Twain said |
| twenty miles." | | | | "The secret to good conversation is leaving out the |
| Mark Twain gives us the following advice. "The | | | | wrong words." |
| secret to good conversation is leaving out the wrong | | | | So the solution is simple, throw out the old and |
| words." | | | | replace with a verbal upgrade. Acquire new |
| The same thing can be said about your own | | | | alternative ways of expressing yourself. Make your |
| conversations. Choose your words carefully; you may | | | | conversations so powerful others want to be with |
| have to live with the disastrous consequences for | | | | you and give you your way. You'll be surprised what |
| the next twenty years. I've seen many friendships, | | | | you can get when you ask for it the right way. |
| and business opportunities sabotaged because | | | | Better words always make things better. |
| someone pulled the trigger before they assessed the | | | | The requirements for publishing this article are: |
| consequences. Words, once spoken, can never be | | | | - You May Not change the content of the article, |
| recalled. | | | | except for minor corrections for layout, typos or |
| So what I call quick-draw, "shooting from the lip" | | | | grammar. |
| words or comments are opportunity killers. Although | | | | - You May Not use this article in UCE (Unsolicited |
| some try to fluff them off as just "misspeak" they | | | | Commercial Email). Email distribution of this article |
| are still irreversible disasters in the making. "Of course | | | | MUST be opt-in email only. |
| if your language tools are limited and your verbal | | | | - If you post this article on a website, you MUST set |
| options are in short supply, you are just shooting | | | | any URL's or email addresses in the body of the |
| blanks. Your verbal options probably need expanding. | | | | article or in the Author's Resource Box as hyperlinks |
| Learning and crafting your message with new, | | | | (clickable links). |
| powerful and influential words and phrases is a must | | | | - Please, if possible, forward a copy of the ezine or |
| in our "you don't get a second chance to make a | | | | newsletter in which you published the article, or if on |
| first impression" world. | | | | a webpage, the link to the article, to the author. |
| WHY DO SMART PEOPLE SAY STUPID THINGS? | | | | - This article is submitted as a service by |
| It's all about habit. | | | | Content is solely the property and opinion of the |
| Somewhere in our past we heard our habitual | | | | author. |