It was one of those calls I love to get – someone inviting me to speak at a conference because he enjoyed hearing me speak at the NE ShingoPrize conference so much. (That’s me on the left after speaking, with some of my buds.) And it was the kind of feedback I love to get – very specific about how effective the presentation had been. It would have made a perfect quote for my website. I asked if he’d be willing to say those things in writing. He was – or would have been had he had any idea what he had just said. He sent me something in writing that was much more thought-out – and much less interesting or from the heart.
Thinking isn’t all its cracked up to be. In fact, it very often inhibits sincere communication. Don’t get me wrong – it’s a part of good communication. But don’t let it get in the way of expressing yourself.
Yesterday I posted about what to do BEFORE you open your mouth. Now I have a recommendation of what to do WHEN you open your mouth.
Listen to what you say. You might surprise yourself. And you might find that you know exactly how to word things when you have those important conversations.
The SpeakStrong Method is about getting out of your own way to say what your intellect can’t express on its own. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get out of my own way so I can reconstruct what this gentleman said to me before he knew he was going to be quoted. You know, before he thought about it.