SpeakSTRONG NEWSLETTER
February 15, 2011
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Rude? Stupid? Dismissive? Or beyond busy?
 I hear people complain that we’ve become rude as a society. Some of what seems rude could be a “busyness” world that has gone beyond busy.
I hear people complain that we’ve lost our ability to think critically. Some of what seems to be a lack of critical thinking could be the result of a “busyness” world that has gone beyond busy.
The need for speed requires us to be more clear and more engaging in our communication than ever. We can complain about how difficult it is to be heard above the noise. Or we can adjust. We can make it easy for people to give us what we want and we can be as clear as possible. We can do our homework before we open our mouths and use phrases that cut through the fog. That’s what the people who are succeeding in this new economy are doing. Think someone is being rude, stupid or dismissive? Maybe they are. Or maybe they need to do business with people who understand their busy-ness world and communicate accordingly.
Not everyone can or is willing to do that. If you can, you have a competitive advantage.
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What Pet Peeves Do You Relate to Most? Survey to Vote
 Vote now on the reader communication pet peeves. Pass the survey on to your friends and ask them to vote too. I summarize the contributions in the survey. The winner gets a free subscription to my eCourse. You can read the full contribution here.
Vote
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Strategic Meeting Planning Webinar
 Web-based training with phone option with local numbers. Great topics – at least I’m excited about them!
HOW TO MAKE MEETINGS MATTER WITH WENDY MACK
Let Wendy Mack show you what to do before that strategic meeting to get the very best results.
Wednesday, Feb. 16, 11 AM Mountain, 1PM Eastern
More Info/register
Last week I presented my “Look Who’s Talking” Webinar. I covered a lot of ground very quickly. The main point is the importance of speaking to head, heart and will by being clear, engaging and motivating. I will schedule more in depth webinars for all three once I get caught up on other obligations.
Would you like any of my webinars custom-tailored and presented to your group, team or organization? Contact me.
Reader question: Tangential Exec
Note: this question came from the webinar last week. 
Meryl, with one of my executives, I find myself completely lost until about 3/4 through the conversation because he will be talking about one subject and then jump to another one. How do I keep up and make sure we’re communicating appropriately?
Response – Note the difference in styles. Something like:
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PowerPhrase: Sorry – I got excited and started talking too much about myself
Last week  I read in “The M Factor” about a young man who blew an interview by talking too much. He requested a do-over and apologized, explaining that he had wanted this position so much for so long that he got excited and started talking about himself too much. The CEO gave him a second chance.
Last week I heard author Jill Konrath suggest having a recovery strategy when excitement gets us talking about what we do when it would be more effective to ask what others need. Her advice was similar.
- Sometimes I get so excited about my work that I talk too much. I apologize. Tell me more about…
It’s great when we get the balance right the first time. When we don’t, it’s useful to have a fall-back strategy.
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About Meryl Runion and SpeakSTRONG
I help you say what you mean and mean what you say without being mean when you say it. With free resources – from newsletters, free web tools, webinars and blog posts to keynotes, training and coaching – I can help you and your company develop effective communication skills. Contact me for more information.
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