Leadershipbydesign
News From LBD

December 2014 Volume 6 Issue 12
 

       Connecting with Others

 

  It's not just what you say, its also how you say it.

 

An old blind man was sitting on a busy street corner in the rush-hour begging for money. On a cardboard sign, next to an empty tin cup, he had written: 'Blind - Please help'.

 

No-one was giving him any money.

 

A young advertising writer walked past and saw the blind man with his sign and empty cup, and also saw the many people passing by completely unmoved, let alone stopping to give money.

 

The advertising writer took a thick marker-pen from her pocket, turned the cardboard sheet back-to-front, and re-wrote the sign, then went on her way.

 

Immediately, people began putting money into the tin cup. After a while, when the cup was overflowing, the blind man asked a stranger to tell him what the sign now said.

 

"It says," said the stranger, "It's a beautiful day. You can see it. I cannot."

 

How you say things is as important as what you say when you are trying to communicate with others.


This story may seem somewhat insensitive and/or depressing. However it illustrates in a timeless way how important choice of words and language is when we want to truly connect with and move other people.

 

 This Christmas season find ways to better connect with and move people to actions of love and peace.
 

 


What Leaders are Reading     

 

BREAKTHROUGH - The Power of Conscious Conversation by William Stewart Mills

 

There is no such thing as an idle conversation. In this book Bill discusses 5 Laws for Getting What You Want from Life. Through a series of exercises he will teach you about the insights needed for effective and conscious communication in both your personal and professional lives.

 

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Leadership Tip of the Month

"What we have here is a failure to communicate."

 

The basic reason for any type of communication is to prompt some form of behavioral response.  

 

Yet human behavior is not a result of strictly logical and rational thought. Therefore exchanging facts is only a part of the process.

 

The feelings and emotions that develop during the course of communication strongly influences behavior.

 

How something is communicated, how it is presented, will always trump what is being communicated.

 

Focus on the areas of communication that will help connect with your audience and what will generate a positive response.

 

Remember;

Be logical, Be alert, Be brief, Be quiet.

  

  To learn more, contact LBD.   

John Branstad

John Branstad
 
Quote of the Month  
 

"My wife and I had words, but I didn't get to use mine."

 

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John Branstad
www.leadershipbydesign.org
763-213-5267