“STOP!”

“No problem”

“Closing forever”

The above 3 phrases are mere examples of how what we say impacts how we (and others) act.

Stop!

“STOP!” is a one-word term that means exactly what it says — STOP! Not slow down, not keep going, not “But you lead me this far — you can't make me stop now.” (That's rape, by the way.)

But it extends to everything. When you say, “Stop,” you really mean it. It's not like the old cartoons where the lady says, “Don't! Stop!” and the man hears “Don't stop.”

See the difference?

(In all honesty, I think that was in a Popeye cartoon and it was Popeye saying “Don't! Stop!” and Olive Oyl hearing “Don't stop!” But I digress.)

I have kids that generally like to be tickled. And I like to see them giggle. But when they say, “Stop!” I must stop. It doesn't matter that they're laughing when they say it. Stop means stop. End of story.

No problem!

Now, onto the next one. Often, I hear people say this, and it's rather innocuous when it happens. I don't think the sayer means any ill will. But think about how it makes you feel when you hear this exchange (or are involved in it).

“Hey, thanks for your help. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem.”

When this happens to me, I think, “Actually, it WAS a problem and you helped me and I thanked you and you're downplaying it.”

Instead, do this:

“Hey, thanks for your help. I really appreciate it.”

“My pleasure.”

See the difference? Feel the difference?

Closing forever

This one really chaps my ass. Here's why:

I take a lot of things literally. In the written word, sometimes it's all you've got: The words on the page. So when a marketer says in an email or on his sales page that he's “closing this offer down forever,” I take him at his word.

Then when he comes back and says, less than 10 days later, that he's re-opening the offer, he just lost a considerable about of credibility with me. I'm not saying I will never read his emails or not follow him, but I will take everything he says with a grain of salt.

And those salt grains add up.

Here's a screen cap of what prompted this one:

Jimmy, you suck.

See how my words matter? LOL