You know the feeling. Someone answers your question and technically everything is fine. Words were said. The conversation moved on. But something in you didn't move on with it. You're still there. Still waiting. Like you've eaten a full meal but somehow you're still hungry.

That feeling is not paranoia. That feeling is information. Your brain picked up something your conscious mind hadn't caught yet. And in this episode of How Words Work with Jack Fox, Jack is going to show you exactly what it found.

From Blake Lively's powerful statement about digital violence that somehow leaves you knowing nothing about her personal experience of it, to the friend who answers every question with "just hung out, nothing much really." Jack breaks down the specific signals that tell you whether someone is genuinely meeting you in a conversation or just making sounds in your direction.

And just as importantly he shows you what a genuinely nourishing answer looks and sounds like. Because learning who to trust is as important as learning who not to.

🎙️ How Words Work with Jack Fox. 📩 Jack's weekly newsletter Credible lands every week with one idea you can use straight away. Sign up here: https://jack-fox.kit.com/dfc55f19a6

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Most people think coercive control is about behaviour. What they don't realise is that it starts with language. Specific words and phrases designed to make you doubt yourself, feel abnormal, and believe that the problem is you rather than them.

In this episode of How Words Work I get personal. I share my own experience of being made to feel small by people who used words as weapons, and explain the mechanism behind why it works even on people who know better.

I break down the specific phrases that controlling people use, why they're so effective, and why hearing them from a new person years later can trigger a reaction that feels completely out of proportion to the situation. And most importantly, he shows you how these same patterns show up in everyday speech when we're stressed or insecure, and how to clean them out of your own words so you never accidentally make someone feel the way you once felt.

This is the most personal episode of How Words Work. And probably the most important.

🎙️ How Words Work is a weekly podcast with Jack Fox. 📩 Jack's weekly newsletter Credible lands every week with one idea you can use straight away. Sign up here: https://jack-fox.kit.com/dfc55f19a6

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are certain words and phrases that act like flares. The moment someone uses them, something underneath the surface is exposed. They don't know they've done it. But you'll know.

In this episode of How Words Work, I break down the specific language tells that reveal deception, evasion and hidden truth. From the word "just" and what it's almost always hiding, to the reason "never" is almost never as absolute as it sounds. From Maxine Carr speaking about two missing girls in the past tense during a live TV interview, to the email that says "just checking you got my message" when what it really means is something else entirely.

This is the most practical episode yet. By the end of it you'll have a handful of specific things to listen for in every conversation you have, and you'll never use them the same way yourself again.

🎙️ How Words Work is a weekly podcast with Jack Fox. 📩 Jack's weekly newsletter Credible gives you one idea you can use straight away every week. Sign up here: https://jack-fox.kit.com/dfc55f19a6

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.