October 23, 2007This Week in the World: Need SpeakStrong Wristband Input - contest

I am planning to create SpeakStrong wristbands. I’d like to put my “say what you mean, mean what you say without being mean when you say it” motto on the back, but I only have room for 25 characters.

What do you suggest I put on the back? The first person to post the phrase I select gets five free bands. Post your ideas here. Thanks!

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58 Comments »

1. Wristband suggestion:
   Take time to say it right

   Comment by Carly Hodges — October 23, 2007 @ 11:04 am

2. Say it! Mean it! Own it!

   Comment by Peg — October 23, 2007 @ 11:13 am

3. Were you mean when you said it?

   Comment by Cheryl Gottsch — October 23, 2007 @ 11:13 am

4. Kindly Speak it & Mean it or

   U Mean it B nice U say it

   Comment by Amy Rice — October 23, 2007 @ 11:14 am

5. My wristband suggestions in 25 characters are:

   Tactful truth with kindness = 25 (not counting spaces)

   Kind, tactful truth = 19 counting spaces

   SWYM,MWYSWBMWYSI (say what you mean, mean what you say without being mean when you say it)

   Comment by TK — October 23, 2007 @ 11:15 am

6. How would Meryl say it?

   Comment by Cheryl Gottsch — October 23, 2007 @ 11:15 am

7. I like the Kindly Speak It & Mean It suggestion.

   Comment by TK — October 23, 2007 @ 11:17 am

8. Mean it. Don’t be mean.

   Comment by Rachel — October 23, 2007 @ 11:17 am

9. How about - “Pass the butter, please!”

   After attending a training session w/ Meryl several years ago, I’ve never forgotten that as a “triggering” statement for “Say what you mean, mean what you say without being mean when you say it.”

   Comment by Tina Grove — October 23, 2007 @ 11:22 am

10. Wristband wording:

    What Would Meryl Say?

    Comment by Scott Moss — October 23, 2007 @ 11:22 am

11. Simple is best Meryl.

    Express Yourself

    Comment by Kevin R. — October 23, 2007 @ 11:25 am

12. You can steal they WWJD and abbreviate your saying to: SWYM, MWYSWBMWYSI

    Comment by Rena — October 23, 2007 @ 11:29 am

13. Meryl,

    Honestly, I love your “Say what you mean, mean what you say but don’t be mean when you say it” so much I’d advise not putting anything on the back rather than butchering it! Pick something else, but please don’t take away from your great message.

    Helen Wilkie

    Comment by Helen Wilkie — October 23, 2007 @ 11:30 am

14. Well, you could do a take-off on the “What Would Jesus Do” and make it:

    SWYM, MWYS & DSIM!

    Comment by Meredith Miller — October 23, 2007 @ 11:45 am

15. I love your motto, although find it difficult to be true to the third part of it. For the wristbands, how about:
    Say it, Mean it, Do it kindly.

    Comment by Diane Jurasewicz — October 23, 2007 @ 11:50 am

16. Smile -Say it-Mean it

    Comment by Terese Ellis — October 23, 2007 @ 11:53 am

17. Mean what u say, say what u mean,& don’t be mean

    Comment by Lsura Wilson — October 23, 2007 @ 11:55 am

18. Every Word Matters

    Comment by S. Bremser — October 23, 2007 @ 11:56 am

19. suggestion

    Say It Mean It Without Being Mean

    Comment by Frank Henry — October 23, 2007 @ 11:58 am

20. mean it say it genuinely

    mean it say it sincerely

    Comment by Barbara Mardyla — October 23, 2007 @ 11:59 am

21. Some great ideas; riffing off one:

    Speak it, mean it, mean

    (Hope that ’strikethru’ works, otherwise, the last ‘mean’ with strikethrough)

    Comment by Clark Quinn — October 23, 2007 @ 12:06 pm

22. I, too, love your “say what you mean…” catch phrase. Boiled down to three words, you could use:
    Direct, Honest, & Kind

    Comment by Lucretia Katz — October 23, 2007 @ 12:06 pm

23. “Say what you really mean but don’t be mean”

    Comment by Kari — October 23, 2007 @ 12:11 pm

24. I agree with Helen’s comment that you shouldn’t try to shorten your great “say what you mean…” catchphrase - it would only take away from the powerful message. How about one of these instead:
    “Be a Pippi - SpeakStrong”
    OR
    “Talk about things that matter”

    Comment by Amy Witt — October 23, 2007 @ 12:15 pm

25. Here are a few–

    Speak clearly and care

    Words—fit and fitting!

    Words-powerful yet pure

    Speak clear and clean

    Comment by Franke Gill — October 23, 2007 @ 12:16 pm

26. SayIt MeanIt Don’tBeMean

    I also like Meredith’s suggestion a lot.

    Comment by Christin Myers — October 23, 2007 @ 12:22 pm

27. This is harder than it looks!

    SWU MEAN WU SAY WOB MEAN
    SWUMWUSWOBM

    SAY IT…MEAN IT…BE NICE ABOUT IT.

    SAY IT…MEAN IT…W/O BEING MEAN

    Comment by Shayla Farmer — October 23, 2007 @ 12:26 pm

28. Say It..Mean It..Be Nice

    Comment by D. Landon — October 23, 2007 @ 12:29 pm

29. Say & mean it, not meanly!

    Comment by Sharon Campbell — October 23, 2007 @ 12:32 pm

30. Say it, Mean it, Be Nice.

    Comment by Grace — October 23, 2007 @ 12:40 pm

31. Do the spaces count against the 25?

    Say It-Mean It-Not Meanly

    Say It-Mean It-w/o Meanness

    Say It-Mean It-No Meanness

    Speak Kindly & Mean It

    Comment by Deb — October 23, 2007 @ 12:53 pm

32. Believe U Can Speak Strong

    Comment by Robin — October 23, 2007 @ 1:14 pm

33. Nicely say what you mean.

    Comment by Melinda Blankenship — October 23, 2007 @ 1:19 pm

34. Speak honestly & be kind

    Comment by Pat Gulya — October 23, 2007 @ 1:35 pm

35. I would shorten the saying into an acronym… like WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) and YASNY (you ain’t seen nothin’ yet)

    swym, mwys wbm wysi

    by grouping the letters in the way that mimics the rhythmic pattern that we read/speak it, it serves as an effective reminder This also stays true to your motto that has obviously become the cornerstone of your endeavour to help others communicate more effectively… and I feel that this is very important to you. To change any of the words takes away from the established character that you have created with the original motto (repeated sounds in the words and the rhythm of the wording).

    I’d wear it for sure.

    People would also ask what it means all the time… the full saying written out would be a lot to read through and for the brain to process, but somehow the acronym format is easier to process.

    16 characters

    I’d wear this on a shirt as well.

    I love getting your mail, it’s really helpful in learning to be assertive.

    Thanks

    Comment by Maki Narusawa — October 23, 2007 @ 1:57 pm

36. My comments disappeared again!

    Tactfully. Truthfully.

    or

    Say It. Mean It. Tactfully.

    or

    Say It. Mean It. Own it.

    Comment by Cynthia Mueller — October 23, 2007 @ 2:55 pm

37. Say it, mean it–nicely

    24 letters. Add an ! at the end, and have 25!

    Comment by Debbie — October 23, 2007 @ 4:14 pm

38. Mean it-Be nice saying it

    Comment by Varsha — October 23, 2007 @ 4:15 pm

39. SAY IT,MEAN IT,RESPECT IT!

    Comment by Sonja Rout — October 23, 2007 @ 7:02 pm

40. Say it, Mean it & Be Kind

    Comment by Joretta Williams — October 23, 2007 @ 9:14 pm

41. Say it nicely but mean it.

    Comment by Jennifer Gonzalez — October 23, 2007 @ 9:58 pm

42. Hey Meryl! How about:

    Speak your truth w/love

    Comment by Gretchen Poulos — October 23, 2007 @ 10:43 pm

43. Say it, mean it, don’t be mean

    Comment by Marilyn Keats — October 24, 2007 @ 4:39 am

44. Speak the truth in love.

    Comment by Laureen Adams — October 24, 2007 @ 7:33 am

45. Talk it and walk it.

    Comment by James Brake — October 24, 2007 @ 8:38 am

46. Say it, Mean it, not meanly

    Comment by Helene Mancuso — October 24, 2007 @ 9:25 am

47. Say it nicely and mean it

    Comment by Lauren McClure — October 26, 2007 @ 2:48 pm

48. MEAN IT - kindly

    Say What You Mean Kindly

    Be Meaningful - Not Mean

    Speak Kindly with Meaning

    Comment by Dan — October 29, 2007 @ 8:51 am

49. Listening is the strongest voice we have

    Comment by Stephen Schmitz — October 30, 2007 @ 1:01 pm

50. Speak Strong. (13 characters with spaces)

    Mean it when you say it. (23 characters with spaces)

    Comment by Charity — October 30, 2007 @ 2:30 pm

51. I like all the ideas above–this is just a piece of info for Meryl and others. If the wristband is going to be similar to the yellow Lance Armstrong ones–ie, made of polyurethane…for those allergic to latex, please be VERY careful. I had a severe reaction (due to my latex allergy) to the bracelet. When I queried the foundation I was notified that I was not the only one to have the reaction and while not made of latex, they are made in a latex environment. I would have gladly donated the money and forgotten the braclet had I known. Check into it Meryl– I like your advice and your website. Just a cautionary note. And to the pundits…I know everyone is different, but I would like to offer this as a warning–not some zealot based statement.

    Comment by Tina Metallo — October 30, 2007 @ 2:47 pm

52. Here’s one: “Words Can Hurt or Heal”

    Comment by Ted — October 30, 2007 @ 3:04 pm

53. I hope it’s not too late to make a bracelet suggestion. Here’s one: “Speak Strong - Be Strong”.

    Comment by Etjen Palmer — October 31, 2007 @ 12:13 pm

54. What would Pippi say?

    Comment by Pam — October 31, 2007 @ 4:27 pm

55. Meryl,

    My first thought, when reading your wrist band idea, was of the yellow and pink latex ones used for cancer awareness. My second thought was, after trying to come up with a good saying of only 25 characters and reading all the posted suggestions, that a new 25 character saying or abbreviation just will not have the same impact as your complete saying.

    So my best suggestion would be to go with latex type, or one of a similar material (see Tina Metallo’s comment), and put your complete saying on it. If you are lucky, you may even get a chance to put it on there twice, i.e. “– say what you mean, mean what you say without being mean when – say what you mean, mean what you say without being mean when “

    Comment by Randel Bjorkquist — November 1, 2007 @ 7:10 am

56. Speak Strong - Live Strong

    Comment by Brent — November 6, 2007 @ 1:59 pm

57. How about “SpeakStrong with Kindness” Or
    “SpeakStrong without Meanness” or
    “SpeakStrong NOT Mean”

    Comment by Mary DeVincent — November 6, 2007 @ 3:10 pm

58. I like the idea of the wristbands. Here are a couple of my suggestions:

    Meaningful input not mean
    Meaningful=firmly+kindly

    Vicki

    Comment by Vicki — November 6, 2007 @ 5:47 pm

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