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This Week in the World
New survey: Vote now for my SpeakStrong wristband byline
I'm glad I asked. My favorite SpeakStrong bylines weren't even close to my survey respondents' favorites. We've narrowed the results and added a few suggestions for the SpeakStrong wristband. Thanks so much for your participation.
Vote now. The survey is located here. The person who suggested the winning idea - or whose suggestion inspired the winning idea - will receive five free wristbands.
A couple of errors. I apologize to those who went to complete the survey last week, only to discover it was closed. I've never had so many responses. I upgraded my services, so we won't hit the limit on this one.
Also, one suggestion was: Speak it, mean it, mean. The mean was supposed to have a strikethrough in it.
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Did you know you can read my A PowerPhrase a Week blog in a news reader? Just subscribe to the RSS feed on my blog. Go to my blog and register. (I use Google Reader.)
PowerPhrase: Recalculate
This one is from Linda Larsen’s Positively Speaking ezine. She got a new GPS system that talks to her when she turns. If she misses a turn, her system says:
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Recalculating
Here’s what Linda says about it:
“She doesn’t yell at me. She doesn’t call me a stupid idiot. She doesn’t berate me in any way. She just recalculates what it will take to get me back on track and offers that information.”
What a great way to handle mistakes.
Poison Phrase of the Week
I get more calls on my day off
Kevin considers Wednesdays to be a paper day, and he calls it his day off on his answering machine. But he does pick up the phone and does return calls - making an indirect reference to his schedule when he does. He’ll say,
- I get more calls on my day off!
This is an indirect remark that hints at the inappropriateness of calling on Wednesday and suggests blame without overtly assigning it. If Kevin wants people to know about his day off, he would be better off telling them directly.
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Ask Meryl
Embarrassing remarks
My coworker puts her husband down for small things like spilling a little coffee in front of all of us. It seems like she wants to embarrass him. How do I tell her I want her to stop it in a kind way?
Meryl responds
Stay away from moralizing, advising or defending him. Tell her how you feel when she does it. Embarrassed? If so, say:
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When you make critical comments about your husband, I feel ___. I would prefer you don’t criticize him in front of me. Will you do that?
Then you need to follow up - which means reminding her and/or leaving whenever she does it.
Do you have a communication question? You can Ask Meryl.
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There's lots of information about how to communicate |
Reader Success Story
A timely manner
I have an excellent record of quick turnaround with my assignments, so it irritated me when one of my managers emailed me a reminder that her assignments were important and needed to be completed in a timely manner.
I responded by explaining that I have always been punctual and never had an issue with late assignments. I reiterated that her project would be completed the following day as I had promised. I CC' d my other managers. One of the managers mentioned that she would sometimes go home angry because she didn't know how to say the right thing.
The email subject line was, "Good communication is all about clarity." I was clear.
Reader Comments on Previous Newsletters
Blog comments:
Wristband input contest
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Issue 292
November 6, 2007 |
SpeakStrong Award
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Ask Meryl
We will respond with our best suggestions. We may publish your question and response anonymously unless you request that we only respond privately. We appreciate your feedback on our response. If we publish your question, be sure to check Meryl's Blog for further suggestions from our readers.
SpeakStrong Definition
To express yourself both powerfully & effectively;
to say what you mean,
mean what you say,
without being mean
when you say it.