Vanessa Van Edwards explains question inflection, the upward pitch at the end of statements that makes you sound uncertain. When listeners hear it, their brains shift into scrutiny mode. In sales and negotiations, watch for it as a sign someone lacks confidence or knowledge, and push back on what they're claiming.
Researchers found that when humans hear the question inflection accidentally used on a statement, our brain goes from listening to scrutinizing. It's as if the brain knows, wait, you're unsure of that. Should I be unsure of that too? Question inflection is when you go up at the end of your sentence. So instead of a sentence, it sounds like a question. Now, there are some people who habitually question inflection. That's the way they speak. But for someone who is speaking and then suddenly asks, like they're not sure, pay attention. The question inflection is often a giveaway of not knowing and sometimes deception. And intuitively, Intuitively, we actually know this. In sales trainings, I hear this all the time. If you ask your numbers, you are begging people to negotiate with you. And if you hear someone ask a number or ask a boundary or ask a statement, question it. Decide, why is someone asking me this? Are they sure about it? This is a great way to protect yourself.
