You have heard of ‘Sleight of Hand’ and how it can quickly be used to convince people something is real, but what about ‘Sleight of Mouth’?
As a business owner, you negotiate every day with customers, suppliers, employees, partners and investors. Yet when someone raises an objection, often your instinctive response is to defend the original position, explain it more forcefully or quietly offer a discount. Instead of resolving the issue, this usually makes both sides more committed to the position they started with.
The obstacle you’re coming up against is rarely a lack of logic. It is not knowing exactly what to say next when the conversation becomes difficult.
The July 2026 Business Blueprint conference gave that problem a name, as Entrepreneur and Deakin Business School Professor of Practice Pete Williams walked the room through ‘Sleight of Mouth’, a set of language patterns adapted from psychology and built for exactly this moment. As he explained, “When it comes to negotiations, we don’t really fail on logic. We actually fail on language patterns.”
The patterns below cost nothing to use and may change the outcome of your very next difficult conversation.
Here’s how to use the ‘magic language’ of negotiation:
Hear the Belief Behind the Objection
An objection to an offer or deal may sound final, but it is usually just an opinion about what will happen or what something means. Pete’s key message was simple: “Objections are just beliefs.”
Treating the statement your client makes as a belief rather than a verdict creates room for curiosity. Instead of arguing immediately, listen for the assumption sitting underneath it and ask what experience, fear or priority produced it.
Map Cause, Effect and Meaning
There are two common belief structures:
- Cause and effect, usually expressed as an if/then statement. For example, “If we agree to exclusivity with you, then we will lose flexibility.”
- Equivalence, where one thing is treated as identical to another. For example, “Giving up equity means losing control.”
Train yourself to hear the cause, the predicted effect and the meaning attached to it when your client objects to your offer. Once those parts are visible, you can question the connection between them and help them see things from a different angle.
Reframe the Intent
One response is to connect your proposal to the other party’s real goal. If a supplier fears that exclusivity will reduce their flexibility, acknowledge that what they actually want is the ability to adapt quickly. Then explain how exclusivity could give them priority access, faster service and less time lost switching between suppliers.
In this scenario, your proposal has not changed at all. Its intent has been reframed around the outcome the other person values the most.
Reveal the Consequences
Another pattern to try when negotiating is to explore what may happen if the objection is allowed to influence the final outcome. Going back to the example of avoiding exclusivity, it might appear flexible, but it could also mean repeated negotiations, inconsistent supply and longer queues.
This is not about threatening the other party with some terrible outcome. It is about comparing the consequences of each path so that the decision gets made on the full picture rather than half of it.
Offer a Counterexample
A firm belief weakens considerably when the person holding it sees that it is not universally true.
In the above example, Pete suggested identifying ways in which an exclusive partnership actually increased flexibility through dedicated focus, or in which founders accepted investment while retaining control through governance.
Use relevant, credible examples. The goal is to open up possibilities, not to prove the other person wrong.
Change What Matters Mos
Sometimes an objection is focused on the wrong criterion altogether. Ask whether reliability, speed, aligned incentives or guaranteed delivery matters more than the concern currently dominating the discussion.
Dependable supply, for example, may be the very thing that gives a customer practical flexibility. Shifting the hierarchy of criteria helps both parties evaluate the deal against the outcome they genuinely need.
Move Between Detail and the Bigger Picture
When an objection to an offer feels vague or like a flimsy excuse, dig a little deeper.
Ask what kind of flexibility they’re actually worried about losing. Is it product range, delivery times, pricing, or something else?
The more specific the concern, the easier it is to address.
At other times, you might find it more helpful to zoom out. Reframe exclusivity as a question of partnership, shared growth or long-term capability. Moving between the detail and the wider context often reveals exactly where agreement is possible.
Take the Time to Practice Before the Real Conversation
Have you tried pitting yourself against an ‘opponent’ from within your business? Role-play as client and vendor, see what comes up, try a few different scenarios and get used to overcoming objections with confidence and clear counter-arguments.
How to Move the Conversation in Your Favour
The purpose when you negotiate and close deals is not to magically eliminate every objection. Using ‘Sleight of Mouth’ and going in prepared will help you uncover the truth behind it and prevent the conversation from reaching a hard stop.
To put this into practice, follow these steps:
- Treat every objection as a belief rather than a verdict.
- Listen for the cause, the effect and the meaning inside your clients’ beliefs.
- Reframe your proposal around a goal they care about.
- Compare the consequences of both paths honestly.
- Offer a credible example that shows the belief your client holds is not universal.
- Ask which criterion they are measuring the deal against and show them a different perspective.
- Chunk the objection down when it is vague and zoom out when it is stuck.
- Practice the patterns before the conversation that counts.
Work on listening, choose a suitable reframe and keep the conversation moving towards an outcome both sides understand. The deal you thought you had lost is often just a sentence and a belief you had not learnt to respond to yet.
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