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Is Your Message Clear?

Posted on March 15, 2023March 15, 2023 by Linda Anger

Is Your Message Clear?

I am discouraged by the fundamentals that underlie usage of obscure communications in business.

WWWHHHHAAATTT?

Yeah, that sentence is a perfect example of an obscure message.

The clear message? I’m sad that so many business people are more concerned with sounding intellectual than they are with communicating clearly.

Simplicity is the name of the game in getting your message across, and in the end, it’s not what you say that matters. What your customer, client, prospect, or employee hears is the critical factor.

Five Guidelines for Clear Messaging:

Avoid words that require a dictionary for interpretation. Few people will bother to look them up.
Use short sentences. Try to keep each sentence under 20 words. Break longer thoughts into multiple sentences.
Make your message relevant. If what you say doesn’t matter to your intended audience, you will not be heard.
Find a clear, concise message and stick with it.
Do not assume your reader thinks and believes as you do.

In the end, language is a tool used to inform and enlighten. The simple choice between one word and another really does make a difference in how your message is understood.

As Dr. Frank Luntz says in his book Words that Work, we need to make people the center of our communication, not the target.

Word Trivia 2/8/2023

Posted on February 8, 2023 by Linda Anger

Word Trivia 2/8/2023

Today’s Trivia:

DID YOU KNOW?

Donald Duck’s middle name is…

Fauntleroy.

Mindful Social Media

Posted on February 6, 2023January 3, 2023 by Linda Anger

Mindful Social Media

The longer I participate in Social Media, the more aware I become of the negative impact it has on my time, my energy, and my emotions.

I’ve begun to unfollow those whose posts are consistently religious or political, and the sports fans who post their assessment of every play in the game. Just eliminating those posts from my feed (but not from my “friends” list) made a difference.

Then I realized that to really live a mindful life, I had to change how and what I post on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

I began by asking myself prior to each post, share, or comment: Would I call my mother, my best friends, and my family members on the phone to share this information?

If the answer is “NO” or even a “Probably Not,” why would I put it out on social media for the world to see? What value would it impart?

If the answer is “YES,” I was OK with posting it with some restraint, such as marking some posts only for family or close friends.

Still, there was something nagging at me.

If the play-by-play sports posts, the religio-political posts and the “my kid just had breakfast and my dog is so cute” posts make me want to cancel all my social media accounts, what sort of reactions are my own posts eliciting from those who follow me?

That’s when I became fully aware that mindful social media was more about how and what I choose to post for others to see than what I choose to see from them, so I dug deeper into the “share” box at the bottom right of the Facebook “what’s on your mind” box:

When I click on the down arrow and on the “more options” option, I come to the “custom” link, which allows me to be very targeted in who can or cannot see a specific post:

If I know certain people will want to see a specific post, add them to the “share this with” list. If I know some who won’t, I put them in the “don’t share this with” box. I can create a group of those I know will appreciate my posts about marketing a small business, my philosophy of life, or my latest book of poetry and fiction.

Yes, I know that asking you to do the same causes you to put in a bit more effort and to exercise some restraint. I also know this is somewhat contrary to the tell-all-to-all culture of social media.

But on the upside, it causes all of us to be mindful of what we share, and in that regard, considerate of the people we call “friends.” Perhaps we’ll even gain back a bit of the time, energy, or emotional satisfaction we’ve lost in endless, uninspired scrolling.

Mindful Social Media. Will you make it a practice today?

Word Trivia 1/18/2023

Posted on January 18, 2023January 18, 2023 by Linda Anger

Word Trivia 1/18/2023

Today’s Trivia:

Floccinaucinihilipilification

fläksēˌnäsēˌnihəlēˌpiləfəˈkāSH(ə)n/ (yeah, sure — that’s easy for you to say! — but for the rest of us, go HERE)

Noun: The action or habit of estimating something as worthless.

This is a mid-18th century term from Latin flocci, nauci, nihili, pili (words meaning ‘at little value’) + -fication. The Latin elements were listed in a well-known rule of the Eton Latin Grammar.

A Mythological Look at the New Year

Posted on January 9, 2023January 2, 2023 by Linda Anger

A Mythological Look at the New Year

January was named in honor of the Roman god Janus—the god of gates, doorways, beginnings and endings—and one of the oldest members of the Roman pantheon. He was depicted with two heads facing opposite directions, allowing him to simultaneously see forward and backward, past and future.

Janus was considered the “god of the gods,” consistently first in the ancient lists of Roman deities. That his name was given to the first month of the year when the Gregorian calendar was established in 1582 is significant. Not quite finished with the old year (think taxes and the IRS) and thus not fully engaged in the new year, we live January spanning two worlds— what was, and what is yet to be.

Can we gain in our 21st-century, technology-laden lives by understanding the role of this ancient, bi-directional god? I believe we can.

For me, the lesson of Janus is that every day is a door, a beginning, and it is up to me to choose to create and act upon a vision for the future, or stay beholden to the past. Perhaps you see it differently.

So I challenge you this January: As you develop your life and business plans for the next months, imagine you wear Janus’s double face.

Imagine you can see past and future simultaneously, and ask yourself:

What practices and behaviors of the past will I allow through the doorway of the new year, and what should be left behind?
What treasures of body, mind, and spirit sustain me? What trash holds me back?
How have my attitudes and beliefs in the last twelve months colored my perception of what is to come, and am I willing to close the door on those that do not serve me?

January, like its namesake, is the portal between the past and the future. Make it a month of reflection and beginnings for you, for your business, for your family. And when you walk through the door to February, remember that it was named for the Roman Festival of Forgiveness, and the Latin word februare, meaning “to purify.”

Word Trivia 1/4/2023

Posted on January 4, 2023January 3, 2023 by Linda Anger

Word Trivia 1/4/2023

Today’s Trivia:

That plastic coating at the end of your shoelace is called an AGLET. It comes from the French word for “needle” (aiguillette)

Teach your children well.

A New Kind of Resolution

Posted on January 1, 2023 by Linda Anger

A New Kind of Resolution

Decades ago, when we were young and eager for success, my friends and I challenged each other to set the most unachievable New Year’s Resolutions and actually attempt to achieve them.

Patti, a fledgling singer/songwriter, vowed to write a Billboard top-ten hit.
Greg, an early adapter of the fitness industry, promised to create a yoga center for the stars.
Leslie, Chuck, and Vince set excessive salary goals for their next job searches.

And I’d be spending my days huddled over the typewriter, pecking out NYT best-sellers one after the other.

You probably guffawed your way through that list, even if you had similar resolutions of your own back in the day. According to Forbes, 80% of people abandon their resolutions by February—so why should this year be any different?

Maybe the issue isn’t the challenge of “keeping” a resolution.

Maybe the issue is the type of resolution we set.

John Lennon famously wrote, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans,” which should give all of us cause to consider whether we want to spend our days focused on the future, or being “in the now.”

These last few years—dealing with COVID restrictions, political unrest, and the general ups and downs of daily life—I’ve had some time to give that quote and a few others some thought. Maybe attempting to regulate how I behave or what I consume is of less importance than some other things.

Meister Eckhart, the 13th Century German philosopher, said, “Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.”

Wow.

What if, instead of barreling into the day intent on accomplishing as much as possible in the shortest amount of time, we decided to slow down, and let each experience of the day come at us as something new? What if we asked ourselves, “How would a total stranger view this situation, and might that make a different for me today?”

I am quite clear that this is no easy task, and it flies in the face of what many of us have been taught all our lives. But what if asking What if? opened up new possibilities for us or those around us?

Maybe instead of a New Year’s Resolution to be or do more, we should make a resolution to do or be less. “Today I won’t respond to anything without first considering the opposite approach to the one I held yesterday. Today I will play a mind game with myself.”

That could be far more interesting and life-changing than “Today I will do 10 more reps of each exercise,” or “Today I will cut my calorie intake by 10%.”

The quote that got me thinking the most is this: “Every year you make a resolution to change yourself. This year, make a resolution to BE yourself.” (author unknown).

It’s not easy to be yourself, surrounded as we are by hundreds of marketing messages for products, and the constant pressure to conform to fashion in looks and behaviors.

It’s not easy to be yourself.

But what if you gave it a try?

Even if it’s just till February first.

Which Do You Have: Questions, or Answers?

Posted on March 1, 2019March 1, 2019 by Linda Anger

Abstract image — Photo from Unsplash by Lucrezia Carnelos

It feels so strange to use this phrase, but… just after the turn of the century, I was involved in Sandler Sales Training with a great guy named Rich Levinson.

One of the major tenets of the Sandler System is learning to ask open-ended questions – questions that require an actual sentence or two, or maybe even an entire paragraph, to answer. Rich was the mentor I needed to get my business booming.

Some years later, I started working with Barry Demp, Master Certified Coach and the brains behind The Quotable Coach blog series. Barry also stresses the value of appropriate questioning. I’ve learned a great deal from interacting with him, and deeply value the relationship we have created over the years.

It was Barry who turned me on to Michael Bungay Stainer, founder of BoxofCrayons.com, and author of a great article I just read titled “Three Unexpected Reasons Why People Don’t Ask Questions.”

Go take a look, then consider these question:

Which of the Three Advice Monsters has had the most influence in your life?
What can and will you do today to lessen their influence in your life?
How do you respond to questions for which you have no answer?

Make your Day Magnificent!

Three Steps to Better Writing

Posted on February 19, 2018February 19, 2018 by Linda Anger

The real “art” of writing compelling copy—words that matter and draw people into the story—is in knowing what goes where and how to edit for story potency. Here are three steps to get you started:

image of an open book of writing

Your first draft will never be your best draft, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be full of great fodder for the finished piece, whether it is a short story, magazine article, blog post, or the concept for a full-length novel. Your first intention should be only to get words on paper, or on screen, if you prefer. Just get your thoughts down as if you were talking to a friend, and try to do it in ten minutes or less. Then walk away for at least two hours.
Now it’s time to organize and edit. For a 300-word article or post, give yourself no more than 30 minutes. Read it out loud to yourself, note changes needed, then walk away again. I know some will argue this point, but in my writing, I rarely sit for more than an hour before I need a mental and physical break, and I do edit as I go along.
The final round of the practice is to read your piece out loud to someone you trust to tell you the truth. If you stumble over words or phrases, change them. If your sentences are more than 20 words, break them in half. If you’ve used industry jargon or ten-dollar words, clean things up. If you’ve wasted too much space with unnecessary introductory material—a common error for new or untrained writers—your friend should tell you. Get rid of it. Make it worth your reader’s while.

My very first copy writing instructor drilled in into our heads to look for the parts of what we had written that we really loved—the sentences or phrases to which we were emotionally attached—and cut them out completely. This is the “kill your darlings” process, a challenging exercise in non-attachment and journalistic excellence that, in the end, will make your writing stronger.

Here is a post you may also find helpful.

Five Simple Ways to Boost Your Smart Rating

Posted on February 12, 2018January 29, 2018 by Linda Anger

So there you are, at a networking event or a business meeting, eying a couple across the room. He has a gym-perfect physique, a crisp designer suit, and carefully manicured hands. She has a few extra pounds, a button missing on her blouse, and a hairstyle that hasn’t changed since the 1980s.

Which of the two is smarter?

The bad news: We are judged by our appearance.
The good news: We are respected for our brains.

Looking smart feels great, is great—but being smart is the icing on the cake.

These five simple practices will boost your “smart” rating:

Boost Your Vocabulary: Crack open that dusty dictionary or thesaurus. Commit to learning and using one new word each day. Bookmark https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day in your browser. Learn correct pronunciations, spelling, and context.
Ask Questions: Benjamin Franklin said, “Humility makes great men twice honorable.” Focusing the conversation on what the other person knows and asking respectful questions achieves two things: It gives you an opportunity to learn even when you think you already know it all, and it engages the other person in their favorite topic—themselves.
Read Good Books: If time is an issue, carry a book or e-Reader with you—read a few paragraphs or pages while you’re in the waiting room. Commit to reading two or three pages each day, or listen to audio books. Buy magazines or subscribe to feeds on topics with which you are not familiar—it will help you broaden your knowledge.
Speak Simply: Increasing your vocabulary amplifies your ability to communicate, but obscure words, jumbo words or industry lingo confuse the conversation. Sadly, most American adults read at an 8th grade level. Use simple, ordinary words, and gauge your word choices on the “pomposity factor.” Never use a three syllable word when a two syllable word will do, and never use a two syllable word when a single syllable word gets your point across.
Listen More than you Speak: William Shakespeare said, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” No one likes a conversation hog, or to be upstaged. Practice your listening skills, speak simply and concisely, and understand your role in the theater of the moment.

Being smart is the icing on the cake!