Three Words That Go Deeper Than the Conversation (Level Two) - 023

What if the most powerful thing you could say in a business conversation had nothing to do with you?

Not your pitch. Not your story. Not your credentials. Just three words — used with precision, at the right moment — that leave the other person feeling more seen than they've felt in any business conversation before.

That's Level 2. And that's where we're going in this episode.

In Episode 022, we unpacked the first three words of the six-word framework — the Speak Up Words that warm the room and create the conditions for real connection. Today we complete the framework with the three Speak Into Words: the words that reach past the surface and touch something true in a person. Words that don't just improve the conversation — they change the person.

Bryan introduces his mentor Dean — someone who showed him firsthand what it looks like to place words with precision and intention. Dean's approach became the blueprint for Level 2. And if you've never had someone speak INTO your life the way Dean speaks into Bryan's, this episode will show you exactly what you've been missing — and how to start giving that to others.

The three Speak Into Words:

Affirming — not agreeing with what someone did, but confirming who they are. Identity-level words almost never get spoken in business. When they do, they change everything. 

Challenging — the word most people are afraid to use. When delivered after Level 1 has done its work, a challenge isn't a risk to the relationship — it's the highest form of respect you can offer. 

Thoughtful — the word that tells someone they were worth your preparation before they ever walked in. One question that could only have come from thinking about this specific person does more for trust in thirty seconds than an hour of smooth talking ever could.

Both levels together form a complete vocabulary for human connection in business — not a script, not a formula, but a framework for being more intentional with the most powerful tool you carry into every conversation.

Free Resources — Grab Both Before Your Next Meeting: 

📄 Six Words Complete Summary — every word, full breakdown, ready-to-use phrases, and the elite connector move for each 

⚡ Six Words Cheat Sheet — built for the 60 seconds before you walk in the room Both are free in the show notes.

Episode Timestamps

0:00 — The Three Words Teaser 

1:01 — Meet Bryan and the Mission 1:26 — Level 1 Speak Up Words Review 

3:23 — Level 2 Begins With Warmth 3:59 — Dean Shows What Precision LooksLike 

8:14 — Affirming Words Reach Identity 

13:36 — Download the Free Six Words Guides 

15:16 — Challenging Words That Build Respect 

21:26 — Thoughtful Words Signal Preparation 

26:23 — All Six Words in One System 

28:32 — Three Action Items to Practice 

30:06 — Final Questions and Your Challenge

Resources to Use:

The System Elite Connectors Use to Remember Names

If you’re serious about improving your business communication skills, I created a step-by-step system you can download right now — absolutely free.

👉 Grab it here: 

30 Connection Questions for Stronger Business Conversations

This is a proven question set to improve every conversation in the 1st 5 minutes.

👉 Grab it here: 

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Transcript

The Three Words Teaser

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What is the most powerful thing you could say to someone and had nothing to do with you? Not your pitch, not your story, not your credentials. Three words. Used in the right order at the right moment, and the other person walks away feeling seen in a way most people never experience in life, let alone a business conversation. What do you say? What are the three words that can make that much of a difference? That's level two, and that's where we're going today. Let's find out together. You in? Welcome to the Elite Business Connector Podcast, where we believe how you interact with people will make or break your opportunity to develop a real and influential connection. Now, whether you're a rookie or a rock star with people, you're in the right place right now. Let's do this.

Meet Brian And The Mission

SPEAKER_00 1:01

Welcome to the Elite Business Connector Podcast. I'm your host, Brian Buckley, husband of one, father of five, and on a mission to help you develop, deepen, and master your business communication skills. And my promise to you, if you listen and subscribe, I'm going to bring my best content and energy every single week to help you get better at communicating and connecting where? In a business environment. So

Level One Speak Up Words

SPEAKER_00 1:26

here's a quick review. Level one, speak up words. Before we go into level two, let's take just 60 seconds and revisit where we've been. In the last episode, episode 22, we unpacked the first level of the six-word approach. And these were speak up words. These are the words with an uplifting focus, hence up, uplifting. Words that lift, warm, and open a person before anything deeper is actually said. And the three speak up words in review are the first one was complimentary words. And a compliment looks at what someone has done, a specific, sincere observation that makes the other person feel seen, not flattery, not filler. A genuine acknowledgement of something real that you noticed about them. It could be light to start, or it could have depth later on. Second word was appreciative words. These are expressed gratitude that names the cost the other person's had for their presence, their time, their calendar, their openness. And when you stop and acknowledge what it took for someone to be in the room with you, you separate yourself from almost anyone else they've met with, and possibly even your competitor. And the third speakup word was encouraging words. These are forward-facing words. It looks at where they're going and says, Well, I believe in what's ahead for you. It's the word that gives someone heart and they're still in the middle of the fight, not after they've already won. And together, these three words create the conditions for everything that follows. And here's the key principle that connects level one to level two. Level two requires, well, level one to work. If you skip straight to speak into words without first warming the room, they land like instructions, not necessarily truth. And the ground you prepare in level one is what makes level two possible. So if you're clear on level one, let's go deeper.

Level Two Begins With Warmth

SPEAKER_00 3:23

And here's today's big idea. Once the room that you're in is warm, the people that you're with, once the other person feels seen and safe, you now have an opportunity most people in business never ever take. And you can speak into them, not just at them or to them or with them, but actually into them. And speak in words are the words that reach past the surface and touch something real. They don't just improve a conversation, they actually aim to change the person. And that is the highest thing a business conversation can accomplish.

Dean Shows What Precision Looks Like

SPEAKER_00 3:59

So before I get into the three words, I want to tell you about someone who showed me firsthand what level two actually looks like in practice. Now, I have a mentor named Dean who came into my life about maybe nine months ago. And honestly, I've been looking for Dean for many years without really even realizing it. Now, I have solid peer relationships and truly blessed in that area. I'm even mentoring somebody right now. But what I was missing was someone ahead of me in life who could speak words into my life. Dean speaks level one uplifting words, but also what I now identified as level two words. Someone with the same values, someone who's lived and is still living the kind of life I want to live, and he's a perfect example. Someone who's now retired and just doing contract work on the side, and it's time to invest into others. And I'm so glad he chose me. Someone with the type of marriage and parenting I want, and most importantly, someone who is finishing life strong. I truly believe God brought exactly what I needed, and specifically when I needed it with Dean. And Dean and I try to get together at least a couple times a month. And what I've learned from him isn't just content or strategy, it's presence, it's the intentionality of his words. His approach actually has become the foundation for level two because I'm living the benefit in real time. And what makes Dean so different and so powerful is how he acknowledges things in the exact moment they happen. He's thoughtful, he's deliberate. He places his words with precision, and it takes real delicacy and timing to do it well. He's even willing to gently interject so he doesn't lose the moment, not to hijack the conversation. Actually, just the opposite. He wants to lean in into that precise moment and speak something intentional directly into it. And let me tell you why that's made such an impression on me. Here's two reasons. The first one, well, is I've never had anyone do this to me before. So it stands out just because it's incredibly rare. And second reason is it's incredibly powerful. It's affected me in a way that leaves a deep impression long after the conversation we've had is ended. I actually leave those conversations feeling well seen. I feel heard, I actually feel valued. And honestly, I leave better from our conversation. I leave different. I leave changed. I find myself mentally revisiting those moments that he created, turning them over, sitting with them because he was so present and because he made the conversation about speaking words uplifting and intentional into my life. And that is what level two is. So thank you, Dean, for giving us the script really for this today. And that's what I want to give you today. There are three speak-in-to words. So let's go deep on each one. Level two speak in words. Well, what are speak in words? These are the type of words that penetrate. They go past the surface and touch something well, real in a person. And these words don't just make someone feel good in the moment, they shape how someone possibly even sees themselves. And that is an entirely different category of impact than anything in level one. Yet that first level is still so important, so foundational in communication. But here's the thing about level two it requires more of you, more attention, more discernment, and actually more courage. You have to be paying close attention to what the other person is saying, what they're not saying, and what they're reaching towards. And then you have to be willing to name it. Most people never get here, especially in a business conversation. They stay in pleasantries and surface level exchanges and transactions. And there's nothing wrong with that. But elite business connectors know that there's another gear, another level available, and they take it when the moment opens up. So let's get into the second half of the six words.

Affirming Words Reach Identity

SPEAKER_00 8:14

Word number four is affirming words. Now, to affirm someone is not to agree with them per se, it's to confirm something true about their identity. Not necessarily their performance, but their character, not what they did, but who they are. And that distinction matters well enormously. And it's exactly what separates affirmation from a compliment. A compliment says, I notice what you did. An affirmation says, I see who you are. One is about output, and the other one is about identity. And in business, identity level words are almost never spoken. Most conversations operate entirely at the output level. What someone produced, what someone achieved, what they delivered. Now, there's nothing wrong with that, and they're vitally important because of how rare they are to even mention those words. But there's a whole nother level. When you go to the identity level, when you name something true about who a person is, the impact is entirely different. Affirmation is one of the most underused tools in business conversations, precisely because most professionals think it sounds, well, soft, but it doesn't. When deployed with specificity, in the right moment, affirmation is one of the most powerful leadership and connection moves available to you and your arsenal. The best use of an affirming word is this. When someone says something true about themselves that they aren't fully sure or convinced about, and they're allowed to believe yet, or just uncertain, well, that's the moment. Affirmation in that moment doesn't just feel good to somebody. It gives someone permission to own what they already know is true or hopes to be true of themselves. It's like handing someone a key to a door they've been standing in front of. Let me give you an example. My mentor Dean, he's a skilled affirmer. His kids are grown, married, and have kids of their own. Mine range from 23 to 10. He often asks about my kids and trying to understand their world, which I actually really appreciate. As I'm telling him about a challenge we're working through as a couple, my wife and I, or as parents, this is where Dean leverages speak into words. He's a master of finding the exact moment to gently interject and create an affirming moment. He will speak into me affirmation that I'm leading my family well in a difficult situation, for example. He'll affirm my tough decisions will be worth it, and that although what I'm doing right now is hard, I'm being the husband and the father that my family needs. It's so powerful, it's so meaningful in that very moment. He affirms my future with my books, speaking engagements, and corporate workshops. That is the work of an affirming word. And I can't tell you how valuable his words of affirmation mean to me. Well, at this point in my life, he so easily could just passively listen, but not to. He seizes every opportunity to use affirming words. So here's what the science says: a study published in Psychological Science by Jeffrey Cohen and David Sherman found that self-affirmation, having one's core's values and identity confirmed by another person, reduces the physiological stress response by up to 30% in high-stakes situations. So, in a business context, this means that when you affirm someone's identity before a hard conversation, a challenge, or even possibly that high pressure moment, you are literally reducing the cortisol in their body and increasing their capacity to receive what's coming next. You're not just making them feel better, you're making them more capable. And that is what an affirming word does when it's used with intention. So, what does it look like in practice? Comments may be like the following That's exactly right. I think you already know that. You can make this happen. Sounds like I see that in you. I've seen it since the beginning of this conversation. Or, man, you are meant for this. And I really mean that. You can pull this off. In Dean's words, breathing into me as an entrepreneur, husband, and father. Pro tip the elite business connector move. Be specific about what you're affirming and why you see it. I see that in you is good. I see that in you, and here's exactly where I saw it is a version that changes somebody. Specificity is what takes an affirming word from warm to transformational. Practical application. Find the character trait, not the skill, the character trait that you genuinely see in this person. Courage, integrity, curiosity, persistence, resilience. Name it specifically and connect it to something you actually observed. The way you handle that situation tells me so much about your character. And I want you to know that it didn't go unnoticed. I've had somebody tell me that. Huge affirming word. That sentence costs you nothing to say and could actually mean everything to the other person who hears it. And that's been my experience. That's the fourth word. And the first speak into word affirming. Now, one word down, two is speaking to words to go after this short break. Quick

Download The Free Six Words Guides

SPEAKER_00 13:36

pause. And this one's worth stopping for right now. Here's what I've noticed over the years of teaching communication and connection skills. People hear good content and think, and I got this. And then they walk into their next business conversation, and the moment arrives at the exact moment where one of these words could change everything, and they reach for it and it's just nothing. Because hearing something once is not the same. So I built two resources specifically for this two parts. And I want you to grab both of them right now before we go into it. Everything we've covered in these last two episodes, all situated. Both levels, the elite connective moves, phrasing the timing, I put in a two-resource option. The first is a six words complete. One page. Every word in the framework with a full breakdown. What it means, when you use it, be ready to use phrases, and the move that takes each word from good to transformation. This is the one you print. Second resource. Six words. Same method, higher format. Go for the 60 seconds before you walk into a room. Quick scan, right word, right level. One research resource worth reviewing. It's also one resource to use right before you show up to apply speak up and speak in. Both are free, both are in the show notes. Grab them now before you forget and before your next conversation. Because the moment is coming sooner than you think, and you want to have these words ready when it does. I'll be right here when you get back. Now, let's keep going.

Challenging Words That Build Respect

SPEAKER_00 15:16

The fourth word and first of speak into words was affirming. The second speak into word is challenging. This is the word most people are afraid to use in a business conversation. The word that risks potentially the relationship. The word that might make things awkward. So let me be direct with you about what a challenge actually is and what it isn't. A challenge delivered with care, after you've already built that groundwork level of level one words, is one of the highest forms of respect you can offer another person. It says, I believe in your capabilities and your capacity to grow beyond where you are right now. I'm not going to let you say comfortable when I can see there's more availability in you. Now, you don't say that phrase, but that's what you're thinking, and that's exactly what a challenging word is. Now, the absence of a challenge is not kindness per se. It's avoidance disguised as maybe possibly politeness. When you see a gap between where someone is and where they could be, and you choose to say nothing, that isn't being nice. That's actually leaving them exactly where you found them. And somebody at an elite level, that's not the way they work. Elite business connectors don't leave potential out on the table because of social comfort. They choose a speak-in word of challenge. Another differentiator, a challenge done properly is not meant to be a confrontation. It's a speak-in word with the goal of being received, not offensive. Big and crucial difference. And I've witnessed both. Here's the thing about a challenge: timing is everything. A challenge delivered too early before you've built that trust, before level one has done its work could land like an attack. The other person can get defensive, they close down, they feel criticized, possibly not cared for. But a challenge delivered at the right moment after the room is warm and the person feels safe, it lands like a gift. It lands like someone who sees them clearly and enough to believe they can handle more. There's an old story of when Steve Jobs recruited John Scully from Pepsi to Apple in 1983. He didn't lead with salary or even equity. He looked at Scully and said, Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life? Or do you want to come with me and change the world? That single challenging sentence, delivered after months of relationship building and genuine expressed admiration. Well, it disrupted Scully's entire framework of his life from that line. Well, jobs didn't open that line. He earned the right to say it first. The challenge was the door. The relationship was the key that made it possible to open. And the rest is history. What a phenomenal challenge. Here's some science. Research published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology by Jaeger, Purdy Vaughns, and Cohen found that critical feedback, aka a challenge, preceded by an expressed belief in the recipient's capacity to meet a high standard, what researchers call wise feedback, produce dramatically higher rates of effort and improvement than either purely positive or purely critical feedback alone. So the sequence matters. Belief first, challenge second. And that's precisely the architecture of level one into level two. You build the room first, then you go inside and nudge. So what does it sound like in practice? Maybe it sounds like, well, what if you have that backwards? I challenge you to look at it in a different way. May say, have you considered the ceiling you're describing may not be the real ceiling? Another one. What's actually stopping you? Because I don't think it's what you said it is. I think it may be this. Or I challenge you to push through this one and find another alternative. You're just so close. Just keep on pushing. Dean has challenged me to have the tough conversation with my wife, seize the moment to speak words into my kids that challenge them to keep going. Challenge me in the tough moments as an entrepreneur and business owner. Now, I may not always like the challenge in the moment, but he's earned the right to give me these speak into words. And I always, and I mean always, think about them long after he challenged me with them. And he's right. It's what I needed, not just always what I wanted to hear. Here's a pro tip: elite connector move. Follow the challenge with silence. Ask the hard question and then stop talking. The discomfort, discomfort of the pause is where the real answer lives. Most people talk right over it. Let the question land. Let it work. The silence of the challenging word is not awkward, it's productive. It means something is moving. I'll give you an example. Dean's move is asking me how that landed with me. What are my thoughts or concerns? Then creates that space for me to process it in when I want. This is such a valuable approach in the moment of the challenge. Gives a challenge, pauses, then asks me what I think about that. What am I considering? What's going through my head? Love that. Practical application. Find a gap between where this person is and where you can see they have the capacity to be. Name it directly. After you build a relationship ground to do so. I want to push back on something though. Because I think you're underselling, what could this become? That's a tough question. Or I've been listening to you and I want to ask you something hard. Are you willing to let me ask you that? That one question alone shows respect before the challenge, even lands. Respectful, specific, forward-facing. And that's a challenge that builds instead of breaks. Remember, we're using these three words to speak into someone, in for intentional. It takes another level to speak these difficult but influential words, affirming words, challenging words. And the last word?

Thoughtful Words Signal Preparation

SPEAKER_00 21:26

Thoughtful. Thoughtful is the word that most people, well, they underestimate because it may sound passive. Like it's just a personality trait. Either you're a thoughtful person or you're not. It's not passive. It's actually a choice. In the context of a business conversation, it's one of the most powerful signals you can send to the other person. To be thoughtful in a business conversation means you did the work possibly before the conversation even started. You came prepared, you considered this person, you thought about what they needed, what would serve them, what question would actually make. Move something for them, and you brought it with you. But it also may be determined in the moment of the conversation. You're able to find it because you're leveraging locked-in listening. You're actively seeking to find a way to use this word. And thoughtfulness is a word that tells the other person, you are worth my preparation. And that signal that someone thought about you before you were even in the room together is one of the rarest things one human being can communicate to another in a business setting. Everyone, no matter what the setting is, wants to feel worth someone's prethought. And almost no one ever does. Warren Buffett is known for something most people don't talk about when they discuss his conversational style, his extraordinary preparation before meetings. His partner, Charlie Munker, once said that Buffett routinely read hundreds of pages before a single conversation. Now get this, not to talk about what he knew, but to ask better questions. Executives who met with Buffett regularly commented that his questions felt different from anyone else's. Not because he was smarter in the room, because he had thoughts about them specifically and their situation, their industry, their history, their pressures. And that thoughtfulness expressed through a single well-crafted question in his situation made people feel more understood in one conversation than they had had in years with any other relationships. And that's what thoughtfulness does. It converts preparation into presence. Here's some science behind it. Allison Wood Brooks, I've referenced her in her book, Talk, brilliant book, and Leslie John at Harvard Business School published research in Harvard Business Review demonstrating that asking thoughtful follow-up questions, questions that show you were listening and have considered the person's specific situation, increases perceptions of both competence and warmth simultaneously. Thoughtful questions trigger what Brooks calls responsive listening in the other person, which increases disclosure, trust, and the depth of conversation by a measurable degree. Now, thoughtfulness is not just a character quality, it's a conversational technology and is available to anyone willing to spend five minutes preparing before they walk in or be being so present in the conversation that your listening allows you to look for ways to speak thoughtful words into the other person. So, what does this word sound like in practice? It says, I've been thinking about what you said last time we talked, and I want to come back to that. That's one of my mentor Dean uses often. Another one is I came across something this week and I immediately thought of you. Can I share it? Another one. Before we get into anything, I want to ask you something. I've been sitting with since our last conversation. Pro tip. The Elite Connector move, one prepared question or observation that could only have come from thinking about the specific person, does more for trust in 30 seconds than an hour of smooth talking ever could. Now, the goal is not to impress them with how much you've researched. The goal is to make them feel worth the research. Did you catch that? Practical application. Before your next business conversation, take five minutes. Love me some five minutes, right? And find a few things about the person. Anything about their company, their recent work, a challenge in their industry, something that they've said publicly, something you've observed in their previous conversations. Then go all in with one question that could only have come from that preparation. That one question that makes them feel like you were thinking about them before they they walked in. And that is thoughtfulness in action. And it changes the entire atmosphere of the conversation before the first real exchange even happens. One other suggestion a thoughtful gift, one that gives that lets the other person know you are thinking of them. It can be smart, small, tiny. It's the thought. Now, here's the bonus. When you give the thoughtful gift, make sure you tie in thoughtful words. This is the why behind the reason for the gift. And every time they look at that gift, well, it's a reminder of your thoughtfulness. And it's a great one-to punch that makes a huge difference. That's the sixth word. And the third speak into word, thoughtful.

All Six Words In One System

SPEAKER_00 26:23

So here's a full picture. Both levels together. Before we get into the action items, let's step back just for a moment and look at the complete method, all six words, both levels, is one unified system. Level one, speak upwards, up as an uplifting. Complimentary, appreciative, encouraging. And these words build room. They create the warmth, a feeling of safety, and the experience of being seen. They tell the other person, I notice you, I value your presence here, and I believe in where you're going. Without level one, level two, man, it doesn't have that foundation that it needs. And level two, we just talked about today, speak in two words. In is an intentional, affirming, challenging, thoughtful. These words go into the room. They reach the person at an identity level, confirming who they are, pushing them towards who they can become, and demonstrating that you are worth your thoughts before you even arrived. These are the words that people replay. They sit with. They even remember weeks, months, possibly years later. And here's the arc. A comment looks at what someone has done, past tense. Appreciation looks at what they gave, present tense. Encouragement looks at where they are going. Affirmation confirms who they already are. A challenge points them towards who they still can become. And thoughtfulness tells them they were worth your time and attention before you even spoke or when you're speaking. Six words. This is a complete vocabulary for human connection in a business conversation. It's not a formula, it's not a script, but it is an approach for being intentional with the most powerful tool you carry into every conversation. Your words. Most business professionals go their entire career operating at a surface level. They exchange information, they transact, they leave. Elite business connectors do something different. They speak words that reach past the performance and touch the person. And the relationship they build, well, it's different because of it. Deeper, longer, more meaningful, and more productive. That is where these two levels give you.

Three Action Items To Practice

SPEAKER_00 28:32

So here are the three action items. What to do with what you're hearing starting today? Right? Number one, map your next conversation to both levels. Before your next significant business meeting, write down just one speak up word that you'll use in the first couple of minutes. And then think of one speak into word that you'll use when the moment opens up. It may be in the first five minutes. It may be 25 minutes later. Make sure you're prepared. Put it in writing before you walk in. Not as a script, but as intention. Preparation turns intention into execution. And execution is where this method, this approach becomes very real. Second is identify a level two word that you've been avoiding. Are the three speaking two words affirming, challenging, thoughtful, which one makes you the most uncomfortable? That's the one you may need to work on first. Discomfort is information. It usually points directly at the move that would create the most impact. Name it, own it, deploy it deliberately in your next conversation. And third action item: find your dean. Not my dean, find yours. Think about who in your life speaks words into you intentionally, not just to you or at you, but with you. If that person exists, invest in that relationship. Make time for it, look for it. And if that person doesn't exist yet, start looking. The right mentor at the right stage of your life doesn't just give you information, they give you words that stay with you. That kind of relationship changes everything. And you may be that person for someone else right now without even realizing it. Closing

Final Questions And Your Challenge

SPEAKER_00 30:06

thoughts. This is what I want you to carry out of this episode. And let me close you with a final reminder. Speak up words, complimentary, appreciative, and encouraging. Build the room. They make it warm, they make it safe, they make the person feel worth the conversation before the conversation is started. And then speak into words, affirming, challenging, and thoughtful, go inside the room. They reach the person, they shape how someone sees themselves, what they believe is possible, how prepared they feel to face what's next. Two closing questions that carry into every business conversation from this point forward. The first is what word does this person need right now that I can genuinely give? This is big. When you are looking in a conversation, even in the first five minutes, and you're cognizant, you are considering what word can I say that can make a difference? It may be starting with a complimentary word. It may be a word that's just showing that appreciation, letting them know right away. Those are very easy first two-minute words. And then it can be encouraging as the conversation starts to go and you describe maybe a struggle or a challenge that they're facing. But what does this moment provide that I can speak into with intention and care? And those could be those moments when all of a sudden you're looking for that affirming word. You're looking to maybe give them a little bit of a challenge. It doesn't have to be confrontational, but makes them think. Also, a way to be thoughtful. And both these questions require attention, both require discernment, both require you to be more present in the conversation than most people ever choose to be. And that is what elite business connectors do. They don't leave their words to chance, they build them deliberately. And the connections that follow are just different because of it. Now you have everything you need to do the same. So I close this two-part series using one of the six words. Can you guess which word it's going to be? Challenge. I challenge you not to just listen to this past two episodes and move on. I challenge you to begin using these words, find a speak-up word, and up a lifting word that comes naturally to you and start using it immediately. Is it a compliment? A word of appreciation? Encouragement? Then I challenge you to find a speak-in-to word, an intentional word that may come naturally to you and start using it immediately. Is it a word of affirmation? A challenging word? A thoughtful word? This podcast is called Elite Business Connector for a reason. Those that are elite prepare and perform differently and experiment. They practice, then they perfect anything that will make them better. And this starts where? With your communication, which is all about you. Learn to become a better communicator, one that leverages speak-up words, speak in words in every conversation. So there's my challenge. And I affirm that this is worth the effort. And I encourage you that you have what it takes to leverage these two levels and improve your communication today. Well, episode 23 is officially in the books. Don't forget to follow and subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode. I also encourage you to download them. I often subscribe, but those are for future episodes. Go back, find some episodes. Maybe it's the one right before this. And if you're watching on YouTube, subscribe and leave a comment. I want to know which of the six words hit you hardest. Which one are you going to use first? And all these episodes' main points and links are in the show notes. And grab the free resource, which I referenced earlier. The link is also in the show notes. I'd love to hear from you. Which of the six words is hardest for you to use? And which one comes naturally? Send me an email. Brian at Brian BuckleySpeaks.com with any questions, comments, or ideas. I read everyone. Find me on LinkedIn, Instagram, DM. Sneak peek for episode 24. Coming up in the episode, I'll be getting back into my interviews, and I've got such a good one for you. I'll be interviewing author, speaker, and trainer Chris Fenning on one of his many books that fits perfectly with the first five minutes. And we'll dive deep into the very next minute after the first five minutes ends and how to frame the rest of that conversation. He's good, and you're going to learn a ton from his experience. But this episode is officially in the books. Again, in and out, nobody got hurt. And as my Chicago Bears chant, good, better, best, never let it rest till what? Your good gets better and your better gets best. As my father used to say, thanks for coming. But most of all, thanks for leaving. I'm out. You got this now. Now is your time to do something with this episode. And always remember to leverage your first five minutes to build connection, trust, and influence. You got this now.