1    Want to be more hirable? Are you ready to be taken more seriously? Would you like to be seen as someone who gets results? One way to accomplish all those things is to take a closer look at your language and communication style.

2    Whether you want to become a mean, lean, selling machine or a results-oriented manager,   it’s time you trim the linguistic fat that weighs down your words. Rid yourself of language that diminishes your power. Avoid qualifiers, hedges and other figures of speech that dilute your message and diminish your impact. Speak the language of success... without qualification!

Look Out for the Hedge

3    Are you using words that weaken the impact of your statements? Review your written and spoken words to audit your use of qualifiers: words that limit or qualify a word or phrase. Qualifiers minimize your words’ impact and undermine the strength of your message.

4    Consider these two statements by competing salespeople:

1. We’ll deliver it by Wednesday.

2. We’ll try to deliver it by Wednesday.

Which would you buy from? Obviously the first one inspires more confidence.

5    Consider these assertions about similar products made by competing sales reps:

1. It’s the best product on the market!

2. I believe it’s the best product on the market.

3. It’s the best product on the market, in my estimation.

Who are you more likely to buy from? Unequivocally, the one who sounds most confident.

6    The following words, inserted before or after a claim or statement, weaken your point and should be avoided whenever possible:

7    Too many qualifiers in a sentence call into question the veracity of your statements. Remember, you’re not running for office, you are selling! In job interviews, you’re selling your skills and experience, style and potential. On the job, your reputation is either being enhanced or diminished by your language. Speak with authority, assuredness and confidence. Weak language interdicts your power. Banish weak words and the language of doubt from your lexicon.

Check Your Power Source

8    Another way you weaken your writing and speaking occurs when you ascribe facts and statements to unspecified sources. Be bold in your statements. Take ownership of facts, statements and opinions. Every time you ascribe a statement to “people” or “others” it weakens the message. Consider these statements:

• “I’ve heard this product saves money and time.”

• “Some say this product saves both money and time.”

• “Prevailing wisdom suggests this product saves both time and money.”

• “People say this product saves both time and money.”

• “Sources suggest this product saves both time and money.”

• “The August edition of Technology Review concluded that downsized HP employees make the best new hires.”

The last example packs a wallop. There is power in specificity! Vague is weak. Specific sells!

Don’t Get Tagged Out

9    Beware of weakening your spoken message through the use of tag questions. Tag questions occur when you turn a statement into a question by appending a query to the end of it. Sales leaders speak in bold statements, without qualification.      Their tentative counterparts qualify their assertions by appending a question to the end of their statements.

10    Below are several examples. In each case the first instance contains a bold statement; the second sentence becomes a tag question.

• This is terrible!

• This is terrible, isn’t it?

• People abhor indecision!

• People abhor indecision, don’t you think?

11    Soldiers won’t follow a leader who says: We’re going to take that hill, aren’t we? And customers will respond best to the sales leader who speaks with power, precision and persuasion. Weak language diminishes all three. Speak in imperatives! Make declarations!! Beware the excessive use of tag questions.

Power to the Speaker!

12    Presentation, passion and purpose all fuel your power of persuasion. You dampen the flames when you sprinkle qualifiers into your language, use tag questions and hedge statements excessively. Power up your communications. Trim your language of those crutches and get hired, promoted, and even recruited by your competitors! 

1. … it's time you trim the linguistic fat that weighs down your words. 

……到了将那些令你的言语累赘不堪的语言脂肪剔掉的时候了。

it is time 后面的从句中谓语动词要用过去式或用 should 加动词原形，本句中省略了 should。

2. Too many qualifiers in a sentence call into question the veracity of your statements.

一个句子中有太多的修饰语会让人对你话语的真实性产生疑问。

本句中的 the veracity of your statements 是谓语动词 call 的宾语，因为太长而被后置。

3. Their tentative counterparts qualify their assertions by appending a question to the end of their statements. 

迟疑不决的销售人员才会在他们的陈述之后附加上一个问题来修饰他们的断言。

本句中的 Their tentative counterparts 指的是与上一句中敢于大胆说出自己想法的 sales leaders 迥然不同的销售人员，这些人说话犹豫不决 (tentative)，喜欢在句子尾端加上一个 tag question。

4. Presentation, passion and purpose all fuel your power of persuasion. You dampen the flames when you sprinkle qualifiers into your language, use tag questions and hedge statements excessively. 

展示、激情、决断都可以加强你的说服力。当你在语言中不时地加上一些修饰语、过分使用附加疑问句和模棱两可的话时，你就会减弱你的气势。 

在第一句中，首先要注意的是主语的三个名词都以字母p开头，这种修辞手法叫头韵 (alliteration) 。上文一句 And customers will respond best to the sales leader who speaks with power, precision and persuasion中的最后三个词则是使用头韵的另外一个例子。其次，作者在这个句子中把 presentation, passion 和 purpose 比喻成能让我们言语更加给力的“燃料”(fuel)，所以那些多余的“修饰语” (qualifiers)，“附加疑问句” (tag questions) 和 “模棱两可的话” (hedge statements) 就会 “抑制或减弱” 这种 “激情的气势” (flame) 。这种跨句子的比喻手法值得我们在阅读中多加注意。