Words That Change Minds by Shelle Rose Charvet Summary

Words That Change Minds teaches 14 mental habits (the LAB Profile®) to decode how people think, enabling tailored communication for influence in professional settings. Shelle Rose Charvet, an NLP expert, explains how to align language with others’ unconscious motivations to boost sales, resolve conflicts, and improve leadership. The book blends research from Rodger Bailey’s behavioral models with real-world strategies for workplace success.

Leaders, sales professionals, HR teams, and negotiators seeking non-manipulative influence tactics. It’s ideal for those managing cross-functional teams, client relationships, or organizational change. Charvet’s frameworks help marketers refine messaging, coaches improve client rapport, and educators adapt teaching styles.

Yes—it’s a Forbes-recommended management book translated into 20 languages. Readers gain actionable tools like conflict prevention, trust-building, and motivation alignment. A strategic planning analyst at Idaho Power credits it for boosting sales through improved client rapport.

• LAB Profile®: A system diagnosing 14 unconscious behavioral drivers (e.g., proactive vs. reactive, options vs. procedures).
• Influencing Language: Adjusting phrasing to match others’ motivation patterns (e.g., “avoiding problems” vs. “achieving goals”).
• Internal/External Motivation: Tailoring feedback to intrinsic or extrinsic reward preferences.

While Atomic Habits focuses on personal behavior loops, Charvet’s book targets interpersonal dynamics. Both emphasize unconscious patterns, but Words provides explicit linguistic strategies for external influence rather than self-improvement.

Yes. Charvet’s upcoming Words That Change Customers’ Minds extends her methods to convert conflicts into loyalty by aligning service responses with clients’ unconscious needs (e.g., “detail-oriented” vs. “big-picture” language).

• “When you speak people’s language, they feel understood, as if you’re part of the same tribe.”
• “Influence isn’t manipulation—it’s reducing friction in communication.”

These emphasize empathy-driven persuasion over coercion.

Yes. It teaches leaders to identify team members’ “why” (motivations) and “how” (problem-solving styles). For example, directing “options-oriented” employees with open-ended tasks vs. giving “procedure-focused” staff step-by-step plans.

Some note the LAB Profile® requires practice to apply effectively, and the 14-pattern system may overwhelm casual readers. However, case studies (e.g., IBM, UNESCO) validate its corporate utility.

A Canadian Hall of Fame speaker and NLP pioneer since 1982. Founder of the Institute for Influence, she’s trained professionals in 30+ countries. Recognized for creating conflict-resolution frameworks used by firms like CERN and Idaho Power.

Yes, translated into 20 languages including French, Spanish, and Japanese. This reflects its global applicability to multicultural business negotiations.

With remote work and AI-driven communication, Charvet’s human-centric methods help maintain genuine connections. Her tools assist in navigating hybrid team dynamics and tailoring AI chatbot scripts to user psychographics.