62 The Six Secrets of PowerPhrases
you lose your own truth. When you do that, you lose authen-
ticity. Without authenticity you have no power.
In the year 2001, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
became famous for speaking simply. When asked a question he
didn’t want to answer, he would say,
I could answer that, but I won’t.In a political world where no one puts their cards on the table,
people found Rumsfeld’s straightforwardness refreshing. The
press loved him even though he maintained absolute control of
every press conference.
So ask yourself—What do you really mean? When you said
to a coworker,
I wish I didn’t have to go to this meeting alone.was that what you meant? Or did you mean,
Please come to the meeting with me.but you didn’t want to say that because you were afraid of
imposing on her time?
When you said,
This printer is lousy.Did you really mean,
I need you to requisition a new printer for me.