5.BE GENERAL, AND REFER TO INTUITION. LOGIC AND AUTHORITY ARE NOT BIG WINNERS FOR THE RIGHT-BRAINED.

SAY: I stayed home because I was sick. I didn’t want to give it to everyone else. DO NOT SAY: I stayed home because doctor said I had strep throat and told me not to go to work.

SAY: I know he’s perfect candidate. How do I know? Intuition DO NOT SAY: I know he’s perfect candidate. How do I know? He meets all 6 of key criteria outlined in Foster’s “A Rational Guide to Choosing Right Person for Right Job.”

6.TALK ABOUT THE FOREST, NOT THE TREES; THE WHOLE, NOT THE PARTS.

SAY: “Give me a summary. Just big picture. Ballpark figures, hit high points. Something that’ll convince Board.” DO NOT SAY: “Prepare a prospectus for Board. Start with financial projections. Be exact. Then ….”

7.BE EMOTIONALLY EXPRESSIVE. IF NOT, BECAUSE THEY READ ‘NONVERBAL’ WELL, THEY’LL BE GUESSING, AND THEY MAY GUESS WRONG.

SAY: “You got him to agree to it? Sally, I love you! You’re best thing since sliced bread.” DO NOT SAY: “You got him to agree to it? Good. Now please prepare …”

SAY: “I liked your report.” DO NOT SAY: “Your report met or exceeded my criteria.”

8.SKIPPING AROUND IS FINE. LOOSE REFERENCES ARE FINE. THEY’LL FOLLOW THE BREAD CRUMB TRAIL.

SAY: “Darling, I’d get blue one. She liked it best, remember? Oh! And did I tell you, Sam just got engaged … “ DO NOT SAY: “Darling, I’d get blue dress for Sam’s party. Mary, PR person we met at Ringold’s, liked it best.”

9.TO CONVINCE, BUILD YOUR CASE WITH EMOTION, NOT LOGIC AND REASON.

SAY: “Tom, if you get me that diamond necklace, I’ll melt. I mean I’ll be all over you like a wet skivvy. Your wish will be my command.” DO NOT SAY: “90% of women in a recent survey said that …”

SAY: Son, marry that girl. I like her. DO NOT SAY: Son, marry that girl. She’s logical choice.

10. LONG, CONVOLUTED COMPOUND-COMPLEX SENTENCES ARE FINE, WITH ADJECTIVES, ADVERBS, METAPHOR AND GILDING OF THE LILY. IT HOLS THEIR INTEREST.

SAY: “We agreed to spend weekend at a cabin in Catskills. He was sure it would solve The Problem, hold that thought – The Problem; and when we arrived, I felt like German soldiers must have arriving on Russian front, or maybe more like Napoleon (what really defeated Napoleon, you know, was Russian winter. Well, now they’re saying it was because buttons on soldier’s overcoats disintegrated in cold), anyway it was cold, grey, dark -- I know you’re waiting for punch line here – problem, oh yes, The Problem (hand to brow). Well actually it was that HE was like Russian winter … cold, foreboding, gloomy, and I, like German soldiers, or French before them ….cold doesn’t work. Talk about pathetic fallacy … DO NOT SAY: We agreed to spend weekend at a cabin in Catskills. He wanted to work on our relationship. It was cold. He was cold. It didn’t work.

5.Do not be vague or refer to intuition. Refer to logic and authority when possible.

SAY: He didn’t go to school because he had a strep throat and doctor told me to keep him home for 3 days. DO NOT SAY: I kept him home from school because I could tell he felt bad.

6.Talk about trees, not forest.

SAY: “Because this is first ‘First Anniversary Banquet,’ there is no data I can analyze that can accurately predict monetary success of this event.” DO NOT SAY: “I don’t know. How could I know? We’ve never done this before.”

7.Stick to topic.

SAY: “Yes, I got hold of Mr. Sanchez. He will meet with you on Friday.” DO NOT SAY: “Yes, I got hold of Mr. Sanchez. Did you know he’s getting married next week? She’s a lawyer from Argentina. The wedding will be in Austin … and yes, he’ll be here on Friday.”

8.Supply context, and alert when changing subjects.

SAY: “Regarding meeting with Bob and Jim last week …” and “Here’s report. Now, in another matter …[and pause for them to switch gears]” DO NOT SAY: “Here are financial figures, and by way, Mary didn’t like it when Bob and Jim …”

9.Build your case with logic and reason, not emotion.

SAY: “I think (reason) I deserve a raise because I raised my quota 10% and brought in 5 new clients with increased revenue of $150,000.” DON’T SAY: “I feel (emotion) I deserve a raise (or “I want a raise”). It’s demeaning to be lowest paid in department. We’d all feel better if …”

10. Be brief, factual and to-the-point, talk slowly, enunciate, avoid pronouns and make references clear. (Oh, and skip hand gestures.)

SAY: Buy Mazda. It’s best deal. It costs 20% less and Edward [trusted mechanic] said it's in better condition. DO NOT SAY: My gut says get Mazda. He liked it too. Plus it’s got a lot of stuff other one doesn’t. Just hurry up and decide. This is driving me nuts.” (hands waving, voice getting emotional)