May 19, 2026 · 15 min · 6 segments
This week I bring you more of my Key Takeaways taken from client sessions over the last few weeks: In this episode: - The real difference between “can” and “can’t” in fast business conversations…
The first thing I have on my list today is a question by a client, and they said, "Anna, I really wanna understand what is the difference when people are using can and can't? Because I find it really difficult when I'm in the middle of a meeting," and this person in particular had some negotiations, "I don't know if they're saying yes or they're saying no.
And not only that, how can I make sure that I'm expressing it properly so there's no miscommunication and people know the things that we can do and we can't do?" This is such a great question and so relevant for you as a senior manager 'cause we're always talking about things that we can and can't do, and especially in high-stakes conversations, this is really important because if somebody says, "I can't sign the deal today," and you understand that they can sign the deal today, then you're gonna have a pretty odd reaction to what everybody else is understanding.
There is something we do to differentiate them, and key point, it's not actually always the T sound.
Is it weak and unstressed, or is it strong and stressed? I want you to listen to two sentences side by side.
One is gonna be in the affirmative, and one is gonna be in the negative, and I want you s- to see if you can tell which one is which.
What do you notice? Which one is weak and unstressed, and which one is strong and stressed? If you said that can was weak and unstressed, you would be absolutely right.
The first thing I have on my list today is a question by a client, and they said, "Anna, I really wanna understand what is the difference when people are using can and can't? Because I find it really difficult when I'm in the middle of a meeting," and this person in particular had some negotiations, "I don't know if they're saying yes or they're saying no.
And not only that, how can I make sure that I'm expressing it properly so there's no miscommunication and people know the things that we can do and we can't do?" This is such a great question and so relevant for you as a senior manager 'cause we're always talking about things that we can and can't do, and especially in high-stakes conversations, this is really important because if somebody says, "I can't sign the deal today," and you understand that they can sign the deal today, then you're gonna have a pretty odd reaction to what everybody else is understanding.
There is something we do to differentiate them, and key point, it's not actually always the T sound.
Is it weak and unstressed, or is it strong and stressed? I want you to listen to two sentences side by side.
One is gonna be in the affirmative, and one is gonna be in the negative, and I want you s- to see if you can tell which one is which.
What do you notice? Which one is weak and unstressed, and which one is strong and stressed? If you said that can was weak and unstressed, you would be absolutely right.
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