Tactic 85 of 99
The Word Leak
What people say tells you less than how they say it.
What it is
You listen for word choice, hedges and distancing language. Language reveals focus and feeling. James Pennebaker’s research on small function words, like pronouns, is the best-known work here. Hedging can signal uncertainty, though not always.
Spot it
Answers that never quite commit: “I’ll try,” “should be fine,” “probably.” A story that slides from “I” to “we” or “they” at the exact moment things went wrong. A friend describing a fight: “I said this, I told him that, and then things got said.” Things got said by whom? That’s where the next question goes.
Counter it
Speak deliberately in high-stakes situations. Say “we will” only when you mean it, and say “I don’t know yet” when that is the truth.