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This Week in the World
Great Advice for Quality Time
What was the best advice you implemented this year? For me, it was the suggestion that my husband and I have weekly 3-4 hour dates. It has deepened our relationship and heightened our joy of being together.
I told my hairdresser about our dates, and she shared that she and her husband had been trapped in their car during a snowstorm for 5 hours the previous week. They rarely get time alone together, and the 5 hours flew by. She told me it was the best thing that could have happened to their relationship.
Connection and understanding take time. Quality and quantity.
Quality time is not just for personal relationships
Don't think this advice is just for personal relationships. Managers discover that office conversations they “don’t have the time for” are essential to smooth office functioning. They find that regular staff meetings that they plan and prepare for make the difference between success and failure.
So don’t wait for a snowstorm. Make time for the people you love and make time for the people you work with.
Your turn - please share the advice you appreciate with the SpeakStrong Community.
What great advice did you implement in ’08? Please share your story with my readers. It could be something as mundane as using hair gel on your eye-brows or as significant as getting medical care that saved you life. What did someone suggest to you that made you glad you listened?
(Credit and thanks to Jeffrey Armstrong for his great quality date advice.)
"Standing in the middle of the road is very dangerous: you get knocked down by the traffic from both sides."
~ Margaret Thatcher
PowerPhrase of the Week
Summary statements - That's why I say...
When I studied song-writing, a friend explained that a chorus is a summary of what the verses describes. She gave me the sentence stem,
- That’s why I say…
I used the sentence stem to create choruses that captured the essence of my song. (I can't tell my heart what to feel, there's an end for each beginning, there's a night for every day, etc.)
Summary statements in SpeakStrong (the book)
In rewriting and editing my new book Speak Strong, I continually discovered I had laid out fabulous tips and great techniques but had neglected to summarize them. In the revisions, I took my tips to conclusions.
Summary statements in conversations
Some people are too quick to draw conclusions and summarize without laying out evidence. Others lay out the evidence and expect the conclusion to be obvious. Powerful communication requires both. That’s why I say, lay the foundation and summarize.
Just in time for the holidays - sugar addiction and persuasion in a sample SpeakStrong chapter
SpeakStrong details 51 communication skills with dos, don’ts, whys, why not's, examples, PowerPhrases, Poison Phrases, and, after my rewrites, summary conclusions of each communication skill required to Speak Strong. I have a sample chapter for you here, some holiday survival tips.
*******SpeakStrong is now available for shipping. *******
Poison Phrase of the Week
Should I send you some samples to try?
Randy chatted with Cory about his latest product line, and asked,
- Should I send you some samples?
Cory agreed – but was stunned when the box arrived. Cory had expected small bottles of a few items but received large bottles of many items with a bill for $300.
While Cory should have asked for clarification, it was in Randy’s interest to protect the good-will by being clear up front.
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Read about Meryl's new book release: |
Reader comment
There's a point
A reader wrote: "When someone pauses to collect his or her thoughts and seems to take a long time, I’ll say, 'Hang on, folks. There’s a point here somewhere.' I do this only with people I know very well and use a light tone of voice to show that I’m not angry or making a put-down. It usually works well."
www.speakstrong.com/newsletter/2008/12/18/poison-phrase-of-the-week-thats-ridiculous/
Do you have a communication question? You can Ask Meryl.
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There's lots of information about how to communicate |
...it's been a powerful and fabulous year - and that's why we say:
Thank-you!
Happy Holidays,
from Meryl and your SpeakStrong Family
Issue
331 Dec 24, 2008 |
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SpeakStrong Definition
To express yourself both powerfully &
effectively;
to say what you mean,
mean what you say,
without being mean
when you say it.