How subtle inflections and intonations can change the meaning of this phase.
At first glance it has a single meaning but with subtle changes to how it is used it can communicate several different meanings:
| How you say it | What you are inferring |
|---|---|
| I can’t promise you that price | Maybe someone else can? |
| I can’t promise you that price. | The price is totally unreasonable |
| I can’t PROMISE you that price | I might be able to get you the price? |
| I can’t promise YOU that price | I’d give someone else the price, but not you |
| I can’t promise you THAT price | I’m might be able to reduce the price |
| I can’t promise you that PRICE | I can give you some other value instead |
This will infer that the manipulator isn’t willing to get you that price, but maybe they will promise that price to someone else.
This will infer that you can’t get the price, but maybe there is someone else who can?
Infers that the price is completely impossible.
This one is going to infer that there isn’t a guarantee but that the manipulator might be able to do them a “favor’ and get that price
This one infers that the manipulator is going to see what they can do. They may not be able to offer exactly that, but they could still get you something good
This one is going to infer that they will still be able to promise you something, even if the price point doesn’t fall in the desired spot
The above info is taken from the book ‘Manipulation Techniques’ by David Cliff Moore. The book is mostly full of useless or obvious theory expect for this one bit of good practical advice.