Wicked and The Cowardly Lion

Tomorrow, October 12, used to be Columbus Day. For those of us who practically grew up with Columbus and the Queen, it takes some getting used to. I checked my snail mail box twice October 8.

But I got it and so did you. And that’s the point of this blog. The cost of competence or expertise is that we sometimes stop changing because we’re good at what we’re already doing. We stop looking for new and better ways to do things. If everything stayed the same (see above) that could maybe be okay. But it doesn’t. So sometimes we keep doing the same thing, wishing for a different result. They call that insanity.

The goal of SpeakerSue Says is to talk about how communication is changing, and what you can do to get better results. Think of it as Communication Skills for Tomorrow. From email etiquette and email productivity to pitching clients so that they grasp that you have a different offering than your competitive set (yup, it’s possible) to managing people who are obnoxious and rude – we’ll cover it all. So here we go:

Wicked and The Cowardly Lion

If you wouldn’t say it to the other person in person, don’t say it in an email. According to a ton of researchers and the emerging field of social neuroscience, we (you, me and just about everyone else) seem to feel comfortable saying stuff in an email message that we wouldn’t dare say to another person’s face. The funny part of this is that someone felt a need to validate this. It isn’t brain surgery. To learn more about surgery specifically on cosmetics, look for Galumbeck Plastic Surgery online services and learn more.

What can you do?
Sit in their chair. A CEO walked into a staff member’s office and crooked his finger at her. “Follow me,” he said. “Sit in my chair. Now, read the email that you just sent to the entire team. Read it from my perspective.” She just hadn’t thought. Stop. She hadn’t thought but she had sent the message, anyway. Guilty as charged! Imagine yourself sitting in the chair of your email recipient. Does it still read the same?

Take a walk. Don’t get sucked in. Just because they’re emotional about the issue, doesn’t mean you should be too. You have options: Ask to meet to discuss the idea, without commenting on it, or take a walk, blow off steam, and come back and write thoughtfully. Keep in mind that your email will be forwarded, most likely to the person that you least want to read it. Seriously. That will happen.

Avoid “trigger” words. It’s not what you say but how you say it. Not exactly true. It’s what and how you say it when it comes to email. Some words are pretty much universally insulting. Even though you may not mean for them to be insulting, your recipient will take them that way. Believe me. Positive emails are ranked as neutral and neutral emails are thought to be negative. Give them a chance to misunderstand and they will. Here are a few.
You may have never thought about this (or it’s variation): If you really think about this
You may have misunderstood
Obviously, basically, honestly, (most words that end in ‘ly)
In other words
You must, you should, you are required to..

The Cowardly Lion thought he needed courage. Really all he needed to do was be himself.

Happy Columbus Day!