I have been writing a blog once a week for more than five years. Hard to believe how much time has passed!
In December, I spoke at JLC Live in Portland, Ore., as I have done previously. Thankfully my presentations were well received. After the talks were over, I had some conversations with some of the attendees. One of them told me something that struck me.
He said that when he reads my blogs, he gets the impression that my perspective is very black and white, with little flexibility. When he hears me speak he gets much more personal information from me, with my stories informing him about why I am saying what I say.
So, from this point forward, I will attempt to make these blogs less dogmatic and make what I am suggesting seem more achievable.
If you are in sales and/or manage other people, that attendee’s insight is just as relevant for you. Whenever possible, talk with people instead of sending them an email or the like. The level of understanding will be much greater because of the communication method used.
Tell stories to inform those you are interacting with about why you are suggesting a particular action. The stories make your guidance and requests more likely to be owned by those you talk with.
And if you are going to write, make your point(s) more compelling by including the reasoning and your experiences that support your point. Taking just a bit more time writing all that out will help the reader better understand you.
I hope that you find the information that I lay out in my blogs more useful from this point forward. And thanks to the kind person who let me know how I could be more effective in my writing.
