Easy English - Exercise - Using positive words negatively

In his article, Mike Hogan suggests that you should use positive words negatively when you want have a greater effect on your listeners. For example, instead of saying that's bad, you could say that's not very good. Or instead of saying I'm unhappy with this, you could say I'm not very happy with this. Okay, let's practice this. Now you will hear a sentence using a negative word in the pause. Change the negative word to not very plus a positive word ready. That's unsuitable. That's not very suitable. Your ideas impractical. Your idea is not very practical. This equipment is useless. This equipment is not very useful. Your proposal is insensitive to local customs. Your proposal is not very sensitive to local customs. That remark was unhelpful. That remark was not very helpful. That would be inconvenient. That wouldn't be very convenient. That's a destructive approach that's not a very constructive approach. That's a negative way of thinking. That's not a very positive way of thinking. Great. How was that? Using not very with a positive word instead of using a negative word could be a more effective way of getting a negative message across. It also has the added advantage of not sounding too direct or in polite