Make this one simple change in the way you talk, email, and chat and increase your leverage significantly and instantly.
Slow down.
Talk less. Say more. Insert pauses. Reflect.
Listen.
How to Make a Vision Board
5 years ago
Showing posts with label power of words. Show all posts
Showing posts with label power of words. Show all posts
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Your Impeccable Speech
Impeccability of the word can lead you to personal freedom, to huge success and abundance; it can take away all fear and transform it into joy and love.
-- Don Miguel Ruiz, Author of The Four Agreements
That's a huge claim Ruiz makes.
The above quote is taken from my favorite chapter of Jack Canfield's book, The Success Principles. It's about how language choices affect our experiences.
Impeccable speech means using words such as affirmations, and any form of encouragement, appreciation, love, acceptance, possibility, and vision.
According to this concept of speaking with impeccability, truly successful people always speak with integrity and choose to express themselves with words that:
- affirm the innate value of oneself and others
- build self confidence
- build positive relationships
- build inspiring dreams
The most fascinating aspect of choosing words is the realization that your words have such a multiplier effect in the world. When you speak to someone, what you express certainly produces an effect in that person, and also in you.
Here is how Canfield suggests that we speak with impeccability:
- Make a commitment to be impeccable in your speech when talking to others.
- Make an effort to appreciate something about every person you interact with.
- Make a commitement to tell the truth, as best you can, in all your interactions and dealings with others. Make a commitment to do it for 1 days, then 2 days in a row, then a whole week. If you falter, start over. Keep building that muscle.
- Make it the intention of every interaction with others that you uplift them in some small way. Notice how you feel when you do that (145).
Keeping these ideals (or "norms" in PhD-speak) is having a positive effect on my teaching. Review these suggestions frequently and see how your interactions get better.
-- Don Miguel Ruiz, Author of The Four Agreements
That's a huge claim Ruiz makes.
The above quote is taken from my favorite chapter of Jack Canfield's book, The Success Principles. It's about how language choices affect our experiences.
Impeccable speech means using words such as affirmations, and any form of encouragement, appreciation, love, acceptance, possibility, and vision.
According to this concept of speaking with impeccability, truly successful people always speak with integrity and choose to express themselves with words that:
- affirm the innate value of oneself and others
- build self confidence
- build positive relationships
- build inspiring dreams
The most fascinating aspect of choosing words is the realization that your words have such a multiplier effect in the world. When you speak to someone, what you express certainly produces an effect in that person, and also in you.
Here is how Canfield suggests that we speak with impeccability:
- Make a commitment to be impeccable in your speech when talking to others.
- Make an effort to appreciate something about every person you interact with.
- Make a commitement to tell the truth, as best you can, in all your interactions and dealings with others. Make a commitment to do it for 1 days, then 2 days in a row, then a whole week. If you falter, start over. Keep building that muscle.
- Make it the intention of every interaction with others that you uplift them in some small way. Notice how you feel when you do that (145).
Keeping these ideals (or "norms" in PhD-speak) is having a positive effect on my teaching. Review these suggestions frequently and see how your interactions get better.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Free and Effective Anti-Depressant Treatment
If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.
-- Thomas A. Edison.
You're going to love this.
It's free and it works! I can personally testify to the power of this cure -- it lies in your communicating with high-energy words, not low-energy words.
To begin with, do not ever ever ever say you are "depressed." If you can't muster the energy to say that you feel fine, choose a word that's less negative than "depressed." You could express that you're on your way to feeling fine, you're OK, you're feeling "quiet."
-- Thomas A. Edison.
You're going to love this.
It's free and it works! I can personally testify to the power of this cure -- it lies in your communicating with high-energy words, not low-energy words.
To begin with, do not ever ever ever say you are "depressed." If you can't muster the energy to say that you feel fine, choose a word that's less negative than "depressed." You could express that you're on your way to feeling fine, you're OK, you're feeling "quiet."
Not to put down anti-depressant drugs and therapies, however, you really do have more power to cure yourself, or at least raise your energy level, than you realize.
Psychologists call depression "anger turned inward." We succumb when certain people or situations disappoint us, or let us down. Don't let disappointment take over any more space in your life than it already has.
In fact, scientific research shows that we have emotional habits, and that we can get so used to feeling a certain way, that we look for evidence to support that emotion. Feeling down is often simply a habit that can be broken. You are the one with the power to decide that you're not going to continue living in a way that feels sad. Life is simply too short for that.
If you feel less that quite happy, look for something that you can do to raise that level of feeling, even if it's only an incremental improvement. Take a walk, call a friend, write in a journal, look at a magazine....whatever you know can lift your mood, even if it's just a bit.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
A $40,000 Lesson in the Power of Words
What you're about to read is worth a lot of dinero -- I say that because it's one of the most impactful fruits of the more than 40 grand I have invested (so far) in my doctorate in Communication Studies. It's a lesson from political discourse, but there's value for the rest of us in it.
The lesson comes from a man named Murray Edelman, who wrote the influential book most likely you've never heard of, called Constructing the Political Spectacle. While we all know that winning politicians tell the people what they want to hear, Edelman shows how they frame our realities, with their language choices. And it happens even if you don't listen to their speeches. Enough people do, especially journalists, so what leading candidates speak affects us in a very real way.
You may remember how one U.S. presidential candidate put homelessness on the front page. All of a sudden it seemed like homeless people were everywhere, then, just as quickly, they disappeared from the news. What remains an open question is what actually happened to our country's homeless, did they actually get any help?
What Edelman does in this book is explode the myth of the informed voter. There is this American ideal, the citizen who listens to speeches, watches the news, maybe even attends political rallies, and rationally decides which candidate offers the most tenable course of action to remedy our current problems. What most people don't realize is that the very national problems you are perceiving, and the solutions you are contemplating, have been presented to you as objective reality, when in fact, you are confronted a situation that is constructed for you by politicians and their wordsmiths.
This is how Edelman put it:
The spectacle constituted by news reporting continuously constructs and reconstructs social problems, crises, enemies, and leaders and so creates a succession of threats and reassurances. These constructed problems and personalities furnish the content of political journalism and the data for historical and analytic political studies. They also play a central role in winning support and opposition for political causes and policies (1).
Consider this. Not for centuries, but for THOUSANDS of years, poverty was considered a natural state of existence. It was not until the Industrial Revolution that intellectuals began describing income inequality as UNnatural, rather than normal, as it had been considered up to that time.
What's in this for you? You can realize that your language, the way you talk about your life, your problems, your situation, is either reinforcing or transforming. If you are worried about something, consider that it may be the way you're thinking and talking about "the problem" rather than a real threat to your health and happiness.
The lesson comes from a man named Murray Edelman, who wrote the influential book most likely you've never heard of, called Constructing the Political Spectacle. While we all know that winning politicians tell the people what they want to hear, Edelman shows how they frame our realities, with their language choices. And it happens even if you don't listen to their speeches. Enough people do, especially journalists, so what leading candidates speak affects us in a very real way.
You may remember how one U.S. presidential candidate put homelessness on the front page. All of a sudden it seemed like homeless people were everywhere, then, just as quickly, they disappeared from the news. What remains an open question is what actually happened to our country's homeless, did they actually get any help?
What Edelman does in this book is explode the myth of the informed voter. There is this American ideal, the citizen who listens to speeches, watches the news, maybe even attends political rallies, and rationally decides which candidate offers the most tenable course of action to remedy our current problems. What most people don't realize is that the very national problems you are perceiving, and the solutions you are contemplating, have been presented to you as objective reality, when in fact, you are confronted a situation that is constructed for you by politicians and their wordsmiths.
This is how Edelman put it:
The spectacle constituted by news reporting continuously constructs and reconstructs social problems, crises, enemies, and leaders and so creates a succession of threats and reassurances. These constructed problems and personalities furnish the content of political journalism and the data for historical and analytic political studies. They also play a central role in winning support and opposition for political causes and policies (1).
Consider this. Not for centuries, but for THOUSANDS of years, poverty was considered a natural state of existence. It was not until the Industrial Revolution that intellectuals began describing income inequality as UNnatural, rather than normal, as it had been considered up to that time.
What's in this for you? You can realize that your language, the way you talk about your life, your problems, your situation, is either reinforcing or transforming. If you are worried about something, consider that it may be the way you're thinking and talking about "the problem" rather than a real threat to your health and happiness.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Rhetoric 102
Okay, class. Now that you've had an in-depth : ) Introduction to Rhetoric, here's a quiz:
Which of the following statements represents rhetoric?
1. If elected Queen for Life, I will eliminate all crime, all tackiness, and provide the best education and the most supporting environment that is possibly possible, for all.
2. Honey, please pass the salt.
3. No comment.
4. I'm taking the dog for a walk.
5. How many times do I have to tell you that using deodorant is a good thing?
The Answers.
The first option is naturally an example of highly-refined political rhetoric. Would that all our political candidates spoke so eloquently. Not that we trust them. If you selected option number 1 as an example of rhetoric, you are correct. Bravo.
The second example illustrates a case of subtle rhetoric. The point being that we speak in order to achieve some end, even if it's merely getting more sodium chloride on our food, which is not necessarily a healthy choice. If you selected option number 2 as an example of rhetoric, you are correct. The teacher is proud of your insight.
The third option is an example of undercover rhetoric. No one ever says "no comment" for nothing. Even saying nothing in response to a ridiculous statement which deserves no response, is a message. The person who says "no comment" definitely has something to say. Perhaps this person agrees with the dictum, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." In any case "no comment," with or without the glaring look, is an example of powerful rhetoric.
The fourth example is simple rhetoric. It is a statement of clear intention, a simple way to shape the world. By deciding to take the dog for a walk, the person is making a selection, and thereby rejecting other options, such as lying on the sofa scarfing chips while watching reruns of "The Simpsons." This too, is an example of rhetoric, even if the persuasive element is not obvious.
The last example sounds like parental rhetoric. Even though parents learn early on that offspring filter out most of what they hear from their parental units, the hope burns eternal in the parent's heart that the progeny will learn from one's mistakes. As this is blatantly not a random utterance, but one spoken with a goal (an admirable one at that,) it is most definitely an example of rhetoric.
So today's lesson is that everything you say, you do so for a reason. As such, you too, practice your rhetoric, with varying degrees of success. The deeper cause for reflection is, your words are more powerful than you think. My last rhetorical statement for this post is....
Have a super Tuesday!
Which of the following statements represents rhetoric?
1. If elected Queen for Life, I will eliminate all crime, all tackiness, and provide the best education and the most supporting environment that is possibly possible, for all.
2. Honey, please pass the salt.
3. No comment.
4. I'm taking the dog for a walk.
5. How many times do I have to tell you that using deodorant is a good thing?
The Answers.
The first option is naturally an example of highly-refined political rhetoric. Would that all our political candidates spoke so eloquently. Not that we trust them. If you selected option number 1 as an example of rhetoric, you are correct. Bravo.
The second example illustrates a case of subtle rhetoric. The point being that we speak in order to achieve some end, even if it's merely getting more sodium chloride on our food, which is not necessarily a healthy choice. If you selected option number 2 as an example of rhetoric, you are correct. The teacher is proud of your insight.
The third option is an example of undercover rhetoric. No one ever says "no comment" for nothing. Even saying nothing in response to a ridiculous statement which deserves no response, is a message. The person who says "no comment" definitely has something to say. Perhaps this person agrees with the dictum, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." In any case "no comment," with or without the glaring look, is an example of powerful rhetoric.
The fourth example is simple rhetoric. It is a statement of clear intention, a simple way to shape the world. By deciding to take the dog for a walk, the person is making a selection, and thereby rejecting other options, such as lying on the sofa scarfing chips while watching reruns of "The Simpsons." This too, is an example of rhetoric, even if the persuasive element is not obvious.
The last example sounds like parental rhetoric. Even though parents learn early on that offspring filter out most of what they hear from their parental units, the hope burns eternal in the parent's heart that the progeny will learn from one's mistakes. As this is blatantly not a random utterance, but one spoken with a goal (an admirable one at that,) it is most definitely an example of rhetoric.
So today's lesson is that everything you say, you do so for a reason. As such, you too, practice your rhetoric, with varying degrees of success. The deeper cause for reflection is, your words are more powerful than you think. My last rhetorical statement for this post is....
Have a super Tuesday!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
