Contributed by Stephanie Staples at Your Life Unlimited
Recommit – when you think of that word what comes to mind?
What have you committed to but have let slide?
What have you committed to that you are not giving you’re all to?
What have you commit to that is not flourishing they way you would like it too?
What do you need to recommit to?
Maybe to an important relationship. What 3 things can you do to show your partner that you are all in, so appreciative and willing to go the extra mile to ensure the success of the relationship.
Maybe to your health? What 3 things can you do to honor your body, to show thanks for keeping you going this far, to set you up for success in the further?
Maybe to your career? What 3 things can you do to ensure you are being as productive as you know you can be, as encouraging to your colleague as you want to be or as purposeful about the direction of your career as you used to be?
That’s a lot of questions there, but with thought-provoking questions come insightful answers.
What one thing would really benefit if you recommitted to it this month?
This week on our Your Life, Unlimited radio show, I was in conversation with communications expert Dianne Booher. Dianna is the author of 46 books, published in 26 languages, with nearly 4 million copies sold. She shared some wisdom from her latest book, What More Can I Say: Why Communication Fails and What to Do About It.
And her guest blog post as well:
3 Tips to Communicate Change By Dianna Booher
Randomness terrifies people. In a world where someone can walk into a shopping mall and open fire on hundreds of innocent people, where jobs disappear overnight, where cancer appears suddenly on an X-Ray, people grasp for control, order, and stability.
They expect the same from communication coming to them––that it should make sense for them personally. When generic messages about change bombard them, they often shut down or push back.
Be Concrete; Get Specific
All of the following comments have one thing in common: They are used in many different scenarios––with a multitude of meanings. People use these generic comments as if on automatic pilot.
“We will get back to you when we have a resolution to the problem.” When leaders toss this promise to a crowd during a crisis, they react, “We want to know now what you’re doing to find the resolution.”
“We’re sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you.” Customers may grin and bear it, but they won’t accept this generic template as a sincere apology.
Neither of these statements moves the listener to change their mind or feel more positive about a situation. In fact, such statements anger people, cause them to dig in their heels, and stall action.
Drop the Doublespeak
People distrust what they don’t understand.
Much of what is written today in corporate America and by governmental agencies is not intended to inform people. It is written to protect the organization providing the information. Take financial disclosures that accompany investments. Remove the jargon and what they say is, “This is a highly risky investment. Beware. We are not responsible. If you invest in this, you could lose every penny!”
Double-speak persists as a protective shield. But gobbledygook also limits your influence and power in multiple ways: wasted translation time, distrust, and confusion. Ditch the double-speak. Unravel the babble. Speak the straightforward truth.
Avoid Making the Effort Look Harder Than It Is
That’s not the same as making things look easy. Promise people that change will be easy, and they will think you’re either a liar, incompetent, or crazy. When you’re trying to influence people to make a change, they need to consider the request and make the commitment. Otherwise, you’ll have a “yes” answer and a “no” on the follow-through.
That said, some things really are easy. Why make them unnecessarily difficult simply by the way you communicate them? Whether creating an image for your Facebook page, writing web copy, sending email, drafting a client proposal, or soliciting gifts from donors, make the action you want clear. If it’s easy, say so.
Communicating change in and of itself is difficult. Persuading someone to change their mind or to implement action based on that change is harder still. The goal in explaining that change should be like building software so intuitive that users no longer need a Help menu.
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Also joining us on the air was Mitch Dorge, drummer extraordinaire from the Crash Test Dummies, speaker, do-gooder and all around nice guy. Mithc tells a compelling story of how one of their songs, The Superman Song literally keep one man alive. He also shares his take on making the world a better place – this man makes sense!
Stephanie Staples, CSP* is the author of When Enlightening Strikes – Creating a Mindset for Uncommon Success, an internationally acclaimed motivational speaker, and the recipient of the 2014 Manitoba Woman Entrepreneur Award for Contributions to Community. Stephanie empowers audiences & clients across North America to bring their ‘A’ game to work and to life. Stephanie has a special interest in working with and empowering nurses and healthcare providers. She happily calls Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada home. You can get loads of complimentary resources to help with issues such as work/life balance, wellness, stress management and happiness in general, as well as find out more information about her coaching and speaking services at http://www.YourLifeUnlimited.ca.
* Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), conferred by the National Speakers Association is the speaking profession’s international measure of professional platform proficiency. Less than 10 percent of speakers have earned this credential and are recognized as some of the best in their fields. Stephanie was one of only five professional speakers in Canada (and the only woman) to attain this designation in 2013.
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