The difference is substantial. A manager who, for example, turns to one of her salespeople because he failed to make quota might fall into one of the VAPs. This would happen if she were to make the kind of statement that some managers tend to make, for example, by telling that salesperson he is a failure. The salesperson who hears himself called a failure is likely to believe that his manager is out to fix the blame rather than to fix the problem, despite what the manager's intent might be. We know that perception is considered reality.
Experienced managers know that a worker's perception often counts more than a manager's intent.
Regarding VAP's, Dr. Elgin points out they are the most likely to get us in trouble when our impulse is to reject or disagree. It is because of such impulses, she continues, that most of us will continue to fall into VAP's unless we can be taught the skills needed to avoid them. It's a matter of taking the time to learn the most common VAP's and then taking the steps to avoid them. Dr. Elgin then moves on to discuss a type of VAP by which we make use of hypothetical statements to attack someone. First, Dr. Elgin points out that all such hypothetical statements have two parts.