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Welcome to Jon Michail’s Personal Branding Masterclass. Jon is the founder and CEO of image group international, an award-winning image consulting and personal branding pioneer established in 1989. This podcast will bring you old-school wisdom, inspiring ideas, strategies and hacks for the new tech world. Here you will learn everything about personal branding: the system, the techniques and the right mindset to have a successful personal brand, image and reputation.

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Hello, everybody, and I'm excited to have you here with me today. Before we start, I can only ask you that you take a moment to write a show on Apple podcasts. Once you do that, please send us an email confirmation. And we'll be happy to send you a copy of that ebook, The Real World guy to authentic personal branding. So now let's dive into the podcast. What are we going to be covering today? Well, it's gonna be the concept called the power of language. And what that means is, in reference to today's show, it's going to be about identifying and removing what I would call negative weasel words, of course, to elevate your personal brand, and reputation. So today, I will share with you how to identify and remove some of these negative weasel words and and make it conscious that really, they are more a distraction than actually something that adds to your personal power. Before we begin now, let's take a moment to define what weasel words are. So weasel words, phrases, or words that are used to avoid taking responsibility for a statement, or making an assertion that can make your statements seem less credible, and could damage your reputation if you're not careful, especially at the individual level. In this instance, why because they are used to communicate a manner that speaks mostly in motherhood statements that are very safe, yet lack the courage of their conviction. They may be spoken or written. And that could be intentional. Also to distract unintentional due to lack of awareness. You know, and this is a key here that can be used overtly or covertly, intentionally or unintentionally.

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And of course, being aware and being learned from that perspective actually will help you then identify what they are and potentially get you to eradicate, sadly, in today's times are over used from the largest institutions to your local school. The first thing though, is to identify weasel words in your speech and writing and the impact they have. Now, some of the common examples of weasel words include probably likely generally, apparently, might, it appears, could be, and it is unclear. Now the thing about it is, even in my presentation today, I might use one or two weasel words. And what that means is basically that, you know, and basically also could be a weasel word, by the way. It's there could be fillers, you know, in reference to not be able to pick another word at that moment from an impromptu perspective, and then you're filling it up with a word that really doesn't mean much. So that aspect, of course, might be unintentionally might be, you know, due to other issues, as opposed to, you know, the negative aspects that I'm talking about here. And what I mean by negative I'm talking about intentionally being negative, but of course, that's not what somebody does, that is a full time concept I spin doctors would want you to know, so look also for qualifies and qualifies words like usually, generally, often, you know, and that can be used to water down the slave and that might get less definitive. What you all suffered double negatives statements, they use two negatives, not unlikely, not insignificant. These are often also weasel words. Now, I'll say the word often because they're not always right, as I mentioned earlier, so this is not about you know, beating people over the head, this is about becoming really aware of what this is in the first place and then how to you know, how to basically eradicated from your communication as best as possible. So it does take some practice and effort. These words can indicate uncertainty, lack of confidence, or an unwillingness to take a stand in the world where, you know, taking a stand is has become old fashion. This is the opportunity of course to shine and really differentiate your personal and business brand by being out there, you know, from a courageous perspective and also From an authentic perspective, by identifying these words in your communication, you can also start to remove them as a notice because you can remove anything you don't know about and replace them with more assertive and confident language. So the question arises, so how do you remove weasel words and elevate your personal brand? Well, as we've already noted, the first step is to become aware of your language patterns, and identify the weasel words you tend to use most often. Now, why specifically, am I sharing also about my own situation this because at times, I've used them as well. And in most cases, that would have been unintentional because it was in puncher as I mentioned before, as opposed to trying to set something up, and then you know, try to cover yourself because it's not the way or operate. Having said that, though, you know, this is again, it's a license for everybody to say, okay, look, I'm going to stuffed up along the way. But this is an opportunity to really learn more about this, and eradicate some of these type of behaviors, so they're not going to reclaim a lot of my personal power. As an annotated. Once you've identified these words, you can start with placing them with more assertive, and confident language, for example, instead of saying, I think this might work, you simply say, I believe this will work. You know, you're chopping out one or two words, you're, you're reframing the language. And of course, it comes across as more powerful. By using shorter language, you'll come across as more confident and trustworthy. And this is important. This is a skill in itself. And that's why, you know, from a copywriting point of view, from a script writing point of view, this is where this craft really shines.

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You should also look for qualifying words like usually, generally, often, this can also be used to watered down and statement and make it less definitive. And if you want to study this more, just study some of the politicians out there, they use weasel words virtually every day. And also the media, you know, you'll find weasel words everywhere. So it's up if you want to use this as a bit of a research, study going, you know, go and listen or go and read a particular statement, and then just underline particular words that are definitely weasel words. And I think you're gonna discover quite a few, including in advertising and other forms of communication out there. Another tip to avoid the weasel words is to spot the vagueness, you know, when you meet somebody, and they are always vague about something, well, what happens generally, okay, by people are not trusted, because they take away confidence from the space. So if a statement is unclear, or lacks position, it's likely a weasel word. A good one is Shai. For example, as someone, you can try this at home, so much to try to do a task, what you'll discover it, there is no such thing as try. It's either you did the task, or you didn't try is an excuse. And in case you didn't do it, in case you fail, it cetera, et cetera. So try is not really a powerful word. And of course, it's used commonly daily, okay, so, you know, just become more aware, become more aware, you know, from a self awareness point of view. And then from a situational awareness perspective, just so you can become more empowered, because, of course, the more you look at that, the stronger your case, and the more you reclaim your personal power. Remember to always get specific, right? As much as possible.
 I'm not trying to be 24/7 Perfect here. But you know, this is the start of the journey. And if you know the son of the journey is at times you're going to make some mistakes, you're going to try to work it all out. And of course, that's all okay. It's all part of it. So remember to always get specific and look for words that are specific and concrete. For example, if you look at contracts, for instance, there's always a disclaimer or a presentation and disclaimer statements that include I'm not saying it's not possible, or it's possible that are usually trying to avoid responsibility for a statement. You know, my next tip is also to focus on the facts. And the facts, of course, is essential and fairly easy to find, if you're willing to put the effort in your own research endeavors to get to the bottom of you know, what you're trying to get involved with. Now, the facts are there in most cases, and if not, then are not there. Just go and find them. So it's very important focus on the facts, look for statements that are fact based and leave that any opinion or bias. And my last tip for you to consider today is the source. Now the source is there. Really important, we're in times where, you know, as the Edelman Trust Barometer shows, trust in institutions has gone down dramatically, and it's getting worse. And it's becoming a big problem in society. Because when the when the institution you're supposed to trust start to break down, okay? 

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That starts to have a filter effect in other aspects of society and of course, right down to the individual, because trust in affects human beings. So and if you don't believe me just have a look at countries around the world where trust has dropped dramatically. And the times what that looks like in society. From the point of view, from the top to the bottom, you've got all sorts of serious structural problems in that society. So check the source of the stamina might show it is an expert or reliable source that resonates with you holistically. Now when I use the word expert, you're an expert is an overused word today. So you can be an expert, you know, from your studies, from your skill from your trade, etc. But there is also a concept called a lived life expert, or what would call his live life experience. In this case, of course, that overtakes specifically what we're talking about here. Because, you know, you'll bring in lived experience and actually has been in action, as opposed to just read from a book. So can weasel words be dangerous? Absolutely. 

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Because they can lead to miscommunication and misunderstandings, which can lead to conflict. And of course, we're currently geopolitical perspective with Russia and Ukraine in the wall. Definitely weasel language going on from both sides a daily because part of that game is to use a lot of weasel language, and of course, confused the situation because that's the way it works. So yes, it can be dangerous. And of course, the evidence of that clearly shows, you know, on a daily basis, just look at your TV screen. And you'll see what that means. For example, if a manager tells an employee that they generally do a good job, it might not be clear to the employee, whether they are doing a good job or not. Now, that's one good example. Now, this could lead to confusion and frustration on the part of the employee, as well as a breakdown in communication between the two. So it's that simple. You know, you're either you're either going to be fed income, or you're not. Now, I know it's difficult, though, as well, because we're living in a politically correct culture today, with you say the wrong thing, and it's taken the wrong way, it can come back to bite you. So there's a problem that there's a dilemma there. And I think that's not healthy for both sides. But what is healthy is authentic communication, and dropping weasel words as best as possible. You know, and HR departments, by the way, are full of this as well, and of course, legal departments. And so, in addition, weasel words can be used to manipulate and deceive. And this is the thing you know, sometimes when you talk straight, the other side is so shocked by it, because we're living in times where talking straight is actually becoming a rare thing. It's more around, communicating the way that basically creates all sorts of confusion because it's not straight or authentic, or fair dinkum. So people, of course, then get into other stresses because of that. So I think it's important that we take responsibility for this. So for example, if a company releases a statement saying that its products are usually safe, it is unclear what that means and can be used to cover up safety issues. And I'm sure in your own with experience, you've probably seen that many times. Unfortunately, as I noted earlier, we're living in times where many people cover up their asses. And this perpetuates a culture of weasel behavior. Now, the more stressors that come into society, by employment, unemployment, economic issues, get a daily newspaper in today's news, you know, the Daily News, for instance, constant negative language with weasel language specifically that promoting a lot of negative non creative pursuits in society. And a times of course, that creates all sorts of stress for people, either from the newspaper or a post or a specifically in the media.

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And that's virtually the program for today. So we've come to the end of it, but today I hope you've enjoyed it. If you require assistance in enhancing Of course your personal brand and reputation. Please do not hesitate to contact us actually, we welcome that. You can find all the necessary information in the description of this episode. Remember, you can connect with me on various social media platforms including Twitter at John on the line Michael, LinkedIn as John Michael and Facebook as he Image Group International. Until next week, I wish you abundance in all you do, and good health. Cheers.

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Jon Michail’s Personal Branding Masterclass" Podcast is sponsored by Image Group International, a global team of practical, digitally savvy personal brand and image strategists based in Australia, committed to maximizing your impact, influence and authority in the business world. To learn more and apply for your personal coaching, seminars and group workshops, please visit imagegroup.com.au or call 1800 631 311.