Shooting From the Lip...It's a deadly game

Shooting From the Lip...It's a deadly game by Oscar Bruce Copyright: 2005 Article Autoresponder: mailto:Shooting_from_the_Lip@epublishersresource.com Author Contact Email: mailto:diana@forwardpromotion.com Word Count: 429 words ----------------------------------------------------------------- TERMS OF REPRINT - Publication Rules The requirements for publishing this article are: * You May Not change the content of the article, except for minor corrections for layout, typos or grammar. * You May Not use this article in UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email). Email distribution of this article MUST be opt-in email only. * If you post this article on a website, you MUST set any URL's or email addresses in the body of the article or in the Author's Resource Box as hyperlinks (clickable links). * Please, if possible, forward a copy of the ezine or newsletter in which you published the article, or if on a webpage, the link to the article, to the author. * This article is submitted as a service by www.ForwardPromotion.com Content is solely the property and opinion of the author. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Shooting From the Lip...It's a deadly game. FOOT IN MOUTH DEPARTMENT By Oscar Bruce In Northern Canada there are two seasons, winter and July. When the back roads thaw in July they get muddy. Trucks traveling the back roads leave deep ruts that become frozen when winter returns. When you enter the backwoods you are greeted by a sign that says, "Drivers, please choose carefully which ruts you drive in, because you'll be in it for the next twenty miles." Mark Twain gives us the following advice. "The secret to good conversation is leaving out the wrong words." The same thing can be said about your own conversations. Choose your words carefully; you may have to live with the disastrous consequences for the next twenty years. I've seen many friendships, and business opportunities sabotaged because someone pulled the trigger before they assessed the consequences. Words, once spoken, can never be recalled. So what I call quick-draw, "shooting from the lip" words or comments are opportunity killers. Although some try to fluff them off as just "misspeak" they are still irreversible disasters in the making. "Of course if your language tools are limited and your verbal options are in short supply, you are just shooting blanks. Your verbal options probably need expanding. Learning and crafting your message with new, powerful and influential words and phrases is a must in our "you don't get a second chance to make a first impression" world. WHY DO SMART PEOPLE SAY STUPID THINGS? It's all about habit. Somewhere in our past we heard our habitual pop-off comments and thought they were clever. We adopted them into our speech patterns. But what you thought was clever may sound mean or smart-aleck to others. That favorite expression so carelessly thrown out could live on to haunt you for life. SO WHAT'S THE SOLUTION? As Mark Twain said "The secret to good conversation is leaving out the wrong words." So the solution is simple, throw out the old and replace with a verbal upgrade. Acquire new alternative ways of expressing yourself. Make your conversations so powerful others want to be with you and give you your way. You'll be surprised what you can get when you ask for it the right way. Better words always make things better. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The Author, Oscar Bruce is the ultimate personal communications guru. His dynamic books are considered the field manuals for mastering conversation and confrontations. His website offers several verbal strategies that can add power to your conversations. HIS FREE NEWSLETTER "Talk Tips" is available at http://www.oscarbruce.com --- END ARTICLE --- For more articles by this author, please visit: http://www.oscarbruce.com/ For more great free reprint articles and other epublisher resources, visit http://www.epublishersresource.com For even more great free content go online to: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/I_Need_Content/ and http://groups-beta.google.com/group/Quality_Content/