Six sentences. What each one actually means. And the one line that gets you out of it.
I spent twenty years on the other side of that table. Not near the deals. Making them.
None of these sentences are illegal. Most of the people saying them are not crooks. That is exactly why they work. Every one of them sounds like trust, or speed, or a favor, and every one of them moves something from your side of the table to theirs.
I am not a lawyer and I am never going to pretend to be one. This is not legal advice. This is what I watched happen, over and over, to people who were a lot smarter than the deal that took them.
Read the six. The line under each one is what you say out loud in the room.
01Before the work starts
“We'll paper it later. Let's just get started.”
What it means
The work starts now and the terms get written after you are already in. Whoever writes them will write them knowing exactly how much you have already put in. By then you are not negotiating. You are protecting a sunk cost.
What you say back
“One page today. We can do the long version later.”
Why this one
It never sounds like a trap because it sounds like momentum. Your leverage is at its highest the day before you start, and that is the only day this sentence ever gets said.
02When the split gets named
“We're partners. Fifty fifty.”
What it means
Fifty fifty of what, decided by who, and what happens when one of you wants out. Fifty fifty is a feeling. It is not a structure. Two people who agree on fifty fifty and nothing else have agreed on nothing.
What you say back
“Fifty fifty of profit or revenue? And who breaks a tie?”
Why this one
This is the one that ends friendships, and usually nobody was crooked. Nobody ever wrote down what happens on the day the two of you disagree, and then the day came.
03When the paper arrives
“This is standard.”
What it means
There is no standard. There is what they use, and what they use was written by their lawyer, for them. “Standard” is not a description of the document. It is a request that you stop reading.
What you say back
“Standard for who?”
Why this one
It is the most common sentence in any deal and it works on almost everybody, because pushing back feels like admitting you do not know how this works. You do not have to know. You just have to ask who wrote it.
That is what they say. The next one is what they do after you sign.
The second sheet is the months after your name is on it. The payment that arrives short with an explanation. The calls that slow down. The amendment that shows up as a formality. It is not going on YouTube.
No spam. Leave whenever you want.
04While you are reading it
“Don't worry about that part, nobody ever enforces it.”
What it means
It is enforceable. That is the only reason it is in there. Nothing goes into a contract that the other side does not intend to be able to use. “Nobody enforces it” means nobody has needed to yet.
What you say back
“Then take it out.”
Why this one
Watch the face. If it truly does not matter, removing it costs them nothing. The moment it suddenly matters, you have found the real deal.
05Right before the signature
“You don't need a lawyer for this one.”
What it means
They have already had one look at it, or they built it from something a lawyer wrote for them. You are the only person in this deal without representation, and the person telling you that is fine is the person on the other side of it.
What you say back
“Probably not. I am going to have one look anyway.”
Why this one
Nobody dealing straight has ever been hurt by the other side reading carefully. The only person this sentence protects is the one saying it.
06After your name is on it
“I'll handle the paperwork.”
What it means
Whoever holds the paperwork controls what the deal says on the day you disagree. Not because they will forge anything. Because they will have it and you will not, and the version that exists is the version that wins.
What you say back
“Send me a signed copy of everything, same day.”
Why this one
This is the one that does not hurt for years. People find out what they actually agreed to on the day they go looking for the document and realize they never had one.
Six sentences. Every one of them has taken more from people than any clause ever written, because a clause gets read and a sentence gets believed.
You are not going to remember all six in the room. You do not need to. Remember that every one of them is asking you to move faster than you want to, and nobody dealing straight has ever needed you to hurry.
The next sheet is what they do after you sign.
The payment that arrives short with an explanation. The calls that slow down. The person who made the deal with you leaving the company. The amendment that shows up as a formality. It is not going on YouTube.