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Our communication guru Nina Spencer tells us that it's not always what you say, but how you say it that causes people to see you a certain way. Listen to some of her tips on how to bring your words into a new light.
Life is about the stories you tell yourself. And the way you explain events to yourself, at work or at home, is related to how you react to them. If you tell yourself a colleague or situation is a problem, and then take action to solve that problem, what do you think you'll experience along the way? You guessed it, the feeling of a problem!
On the other hand, if you tell yourself that this colleague, or that situation, is a challenge, you open yourself up to a different interpretation of the experience and just might realize a more pleasing end-result. Semantics you say? Maybe. Or maybe not. Consider training your brain to kick-in three seconds faster than your tongue. Make sure your brain is engaged, before putting your mouth in gear, to enhance the probability of getting the result you desire.
By taking those extra three seconds to flip autopilot, negative words and sentences into positive communications, you become more influential and more persuasive, regardless of your positional power at work or within your family structure.
Instead of saying, “Don’t forget the meeting Monday at noon”, or, “Don’t forget your lunch”, embrace positive alternatives to your communications by backfilling with, ““Remember the meeting at noon.” “Remember to take your lunch”. Painting positive verbal pictures with your words, sentences and directives is always more powerful, always more persuasive and always more forward-thinking.
“Thank-you for holding”, becomes, “Thank-you for your patience.”
“You misunderstood me” becomes, “I need to be clearer.”
“Is this a bad time?” becomes “Is this a good time?”
“I’ll never get through all this”, becomes, “I’ll eventually finish.”
“I’m no good at names” becomes, “I’ll work harder at remembering names.”
And, “I hate giving presentations. I always forget something important”, becomes, “Presentations are part of my work. Preparing and practicing will help me remember what I want to say.”
If you become a student of positive wording and thinking for life, your communications will create more harmony with all you encounter, and that will automatically help create more joy and passion for your profession, enhance peace in your days and improve work-life balance, too.
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Communications
