A PowerPhrase A Week From SpeakStrong Inc

Cool Tools Telephone Seminar Update The midday Cool Tools Telephone Seminar was fabulous and full but there is plenty of room left on the evening conference. (I find it hard to compete with Survivor.) More info here

The next telephone conference will be How to Talk to Your Doctor, with Dr. Paul Dugliss. Stay tuned for more information.

New Articles - Performance Reviews/Sarcasm This week I posted six new articles about performance reviews and performance documentation, three performance documentation forms and an article on sarcasm. You’ll find all my articles indexed here. These are available for your use with proper credit.

This Week in the World
Say No to "No." If Former FBI Director George Tenant is to be believed, (and that’s a question I’d rather not get into) then I hope you’re more willing to say no to “no” than he was. He claimed to have issued a strong pre-9/11 warning to Condi Rice that was ignored. He explains that it wasn’t appropriate to mention his serious terrorist attack concerns in any of his daily briefings with the President.

There are times to press against resistance, to insist on being heard and to bypass “proper channels” if important information falls on deaf ears.

I doubt any of my readers need to bust down a decision-maker’s door to get heard about crucial terrorist attack warnings. For most of us, the issues are much smaller - unrealistic deadlines, ineffective policies or dishonesty we have become aware of. Even so, if it’s important enough, say no to “no” and keep on Speaking Strong until your warnings are heard.
To post a comment in my blog, click here, scroll down to comments, click and post.

PowerPhrase of the Week
I've Examined the Specs and...
80% of projects come in late. Paula expected hers would too. She thought it imperative that her manager know, so she told him,

I’ve examined the specs and the deadlines for this project, and based on my analysis, I’m convinced that we are going to miss the delivery. I want to bring this to your attention so we can make adjustments early to minimize the impact.

Her manager resisted and pressured her to dismiss the facts, but Paula pursued it. Because the consequences of late delivery were severe, she was willing to go to her boss’ manager if necessary. (When you bypass the “normal channels,” inform your manager of your intent.)

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Be your own advocate. PowerPhrases: The Perfect Words to Say it Right and Get the Results You Want tells you how.

Poison Phrase of the Week
No One Tells Me Anything

Jordon speaks in absolutes. The manual was "useless," the convention was a "waste of time" and when he had to cut a meeting with a client short because he received a last-minute-call for a conference, he told the client,

- no one tells me anything.

While there may be some truth in his assessments, Jordon's use of exaggerated absolutes creates a visceral response of resistance in his listeners. They wonder how they too might get caught in his web of absolute judgments.

Learn more about word choice in How to Use PowerPhrases.

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Ask Meryl
Bathroom Rights

Meryl,
I have been going thru severe harassment and went to HR and they settled. Now they are going back on their agreements and won’t allow me go to the bathroom, they said it is an undue hardship and it’s a removal of essential part of my job to use the bathroom during the day for a few minutes. Are there laws that I can show them, especially if this is the government? Everyone else is allowed to use the bathroom. I know my answer is to leave but what do in due in the meantime.

Meryl Responds

I don't have an answer for you, but I hope my readers do. Please click on comments below, click comments on the blog post and offer your input.

Comments

PowerPhrases helps you FACE your problems with the four-step FACE formula.

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Reader Success Story
The Perfume Issue I used to attend the symphony quite often, and the ladies who usually sat next to me smelled as if they bathed in perfume. It was actually a quite nice perfume … just not in the quantity they indulged. I felt very shy about approaching them about it, but I also didn’t want to suffer through another concert while trying not to choke.

In the end, I compromised with my cowardice and wrote them a note. I explained that I liked their perfume very much but asked if they could not wear quite so much on concert evenings as it caused me discomfort. Both ladies approached me later and apologized for their perfume. We were able to laugh over it, and I never had another issue.

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I'll Let You Take Care of This

Do You Really Think This Qualifies as Massive Anxiety?

Dance Class

Issue 268
May 3, 2007

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