Say This, Not That - A Few Word Swaps That Instantly Upgrade Your Credibility

⏳ Read Time: Less than 4 min.

Welcome back to The Winning Edge, where we sharpen the tools that help you communicate with impact—and show up like the most confident person in the room.

This week’s topic is subtle but powerful: the small shifts in language that change how people perceive you.

Because here’s the truth:

“It’s not just what you say. It’s how you say it.”

The right word choice builds authority. The wrong one chips away at your influence—even if your message is great.

Let’s fix that.
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This Week’s Insights

✅ Say This, Not That – A few word swaps that instantly upgrade your credibility
✅ Confidence Killers in Your Everyday Speech
✅ Delivery Deep Dive: How to Sound More Decisive in Meetings
✅ AI Tip of the Week – An AI tool that rewrites your emails to sound more polished
✅ Quick Hitters for fast, high-impact improvements

THE MAIN EVENT
🎤 Say This, Not That

Want to sound instantly more credible, confident, and composed?

Make these small language upgrades:

❌ “I think we should...”
✅ “I recommend we...”
🔁 Why it works: “I think” sounds tentative. “I recommend” implies authority and trust in your expertise.

❌ “This might be a dumb question, but...”
✅ “Here’s something I’d like to clarify...”
🔁 Why it works: Diminishing your question diminishes you. Lead with clarity, not apology.

❌ “Does that make sense?”
✅ “Let me know if you’d like more detail on that.”
🔁 Why it works: The first implies your idea might not make sense. The second keeps the door open without doubting yourself.

🎯 Try this: The next time you present or speak in a meeting, challenge yourself to replace any soft or qualifying language. You’ll notice people lean in differently.

QUICK HITTERS: Fast Wins for the Week

💡 Tip of the Week: Replace “sorry for the delay” with “thanks for your patience.” It flips the tone from guilt to gratitude.

📊 Stat of the Week: According to a LinkedIn study, professionals who speak with fewer filler words are perceived as 30% more competent and trustworthy.

🎭 Power Move: Start your next Zoom call with a 5-second silent scan of the room before you speak. It instantly commands attention.

📖 Recommended Read: “Just Listen” by Mark Goulston – A phenomenal book on how to speak so people really hear you.

WEEKLY DEEP DIVE
Sound More Decisive in Meetings

Whether you're pitching a strategy or giving a project update, how you speak matters.

Here’s how to project clarity and leadership without sounding arrogant:

🔹 Use strong verbs.
Instead of: “We’re thinking about launching soon,”
Say: “We’re launching next quarter with a phased rollout.”

🔹 Avoid disclaimers.
Ditch: “This might be wrong, but...”
Say: “Based on what we’ve seen, here's our current take.”

🔹 Mirror the decision-making tone.
Speak in short, structured sentences:

1. What’s happening

2. Why it matters

3. What’s next

📈 Pro Tip: Practice answering questions in 3 parts. It helps you sound intentional—even when you're improvising.

AI TIP OF THE WEEK

📌 Tool: Hemingway App

Drop your presentation notes, emails, or messages in and it highlights passive voice, weak phrasing, and complex sentences.

💡 Bonus: It makes you aware of habits like overusing adverbs or hedging language—and trains you to write (and speak) with clarity.

WINNING WITH AI: The Future of Sales Proposals and Presentations

AI isn’t just for tech geeks or big corporations—it’s transforming how we sell, present, and communicate. The best sales teams are already using AI to:
✅ Generate compelling, tailored proposals in minutes (not hours).
✅ Turn data into engaging, visual stories that capture attention.
✅ Automate tedious tasks so they can focus on closing deals instead.

This isn’t the future—it’s happening right now.

Get your copy of my ebook here!

ACTION STEPS & COMMUNITY QUESTION

🎯 This week’s challenge:

This week, identify one language habit that’s holding back your authority—and flip it.

🚀 Want accountability?
Tell me the phrase you’re going to stop using (and what you’ll say instead). I’ll share some of the best swaps in a future issue!

P.S.
Next week, we’re going deep on Presentation Mastery—how to hook your audience in the first 10 seconds, hold attention like a pro, and end with clarity and punch. If you ever speak, pitch, or persuade... you’ll want this one.

Keep building your edge—one conversation at a time.

YOUR OPINION MATTERS!

If you have more feedback or just want to get in touch, respond to this email, and we’ll get back to you!

Thanks for reading!

Until next week!

Mary Beth