Words also have a strong bearing on how we remember certain details. For example, in a 1979 study conducted by Elizabeth Loftus, when defendants were asked how fast they were driving when they "smashed" into the other car as opposed to "hit" the other car, much higher speeds were reported. In another study, subjects were asked if they had headaches "frequently" or "occasionally" and how many per week. Those who were interviewed with the word "frequently" reported 2.2 headaches per week, while those interviewed with the word "occasionally" reported only 0.7 per week.

Have you ever noticed those pharmaceutical commercials currently on the air? They portray all these wonderful benefits and use a soothing, sophisticated voice to highlight these benefits. Then, at the end of the commercial, when they have to run through all the negative side effects: vomiting, headache, diarrhea, etc., they read through these negatives quickly using the same pleasant voice! The effect is that negatives are de-emphasized, and we, as viewers, are still left with an overall positive impression.

The term double-speak means replacing an offensive word with a less offensive word to create less sting. Here are some examples of how double-speak has made its way into our society.

Fired -- Let go
Used car -- Pre-owned vehicle
Sex change surgery -- Gender reassignment
Garbage man -- Sanitation engineer
Interrogate -- Interview
Fail -- Not passing
Fatty (beef) -- Marbled (beef)
Final exam -- Celebration of knowledge

Often salespeople, or people in any sort of persuasive situation for that matter, need to either play up or play down the greatness or smallness of certain numbers. When playing up a number, persuaders use this type of language:

* More than three quarters