I get on really well with my mother-in-law, but last week she caught me off guard and I uttered the fateful words,
"What’s new?"

It’s lucky I wasn’t in a confined space because the air would have run out within minutes. You see, my mother-in-law is the master of using sixty four thousand words when one will do.

She can quite effortlessly transform any one liner into War and Peace.

My mother-in-law has never come across the bestselling crime novelist Elmore Leonard, who once said
"I try to leave out the parts people skip".

The problem is, whilst my wife can faithfully listen to each and every superfluous detail, I come from the
"just tell me what I need to know" school of communication.

If you want to get your message across more effectively, it isn’t just about improving your preferred style of communication, it’s about identifying and communicating better in other peoples preferred style of communication.

For example, if you send me an e-mail with a 27 page attachment, if it hasn’t got a summary, I won’t read it. I don’t do detail.

My accountant friends on the other hand are in heaven when they have to wade through pages of spreadsheets, balanced scorecards and KPI’s.

So when you want to get your message across, be conscious of the best way to communicate with individuals. The words we use and the way we use them can be very powerful.

As the following 90 second video so beautifully demonstrates, "Change your words; change your world." (Thanks to Sid for the video)

Change your words, change your world

The following 2 minute video from the inimitable Paul Whitehouse demonstrates the importance of being able to communicate in other people’s languages, albeit in a somewhat more irreverent manner!

Better communication by Paul Whitehouse

Quotes

A critic is a man who knows the way but can’t drive a car - Kenneth Tynan

People will always try to stop you from doing the right thing if it is unconventional - Warren Buffet

The dumbest people I know are those who know it all - Malcolm Forbes

The price of greatness is responsibility - Winston Churchill

Humour

1) Behind every great man….

One night President Obama and his wife Michelle decided to do something out of the norm and go for a casual dinner at a restaurant that wasn’t too luxurious.

When they were seated, the owner of the restaurant asked the President’s secret service if he could please speak to the First Lady in private. They obliged and Michelle had a conversation with the owner.

Following this conversation President Obama asked Michelle, why was he so interested in talking to you. She mentioned that in her teenage years, he had been madly in love with her.

President Obama then said, "Oh, so if you had married him, you’d now be
the owner of this lovely restaurant…!”

To which the First Lady responded, "No, if I’d married him, he would now
be the President of the United States…”

2) The laughing interviewer

I included this short video last week but given the amazing feedback I’ve received, I’ve included it again just in case you missed it. The interviewer’s laughter is infectious. It had me in tears.

Host can’t stop laughing at man’s voice

Thanks to all of you who send me e-mails with your feedback and also your words of wisdom. I really appreciate it.

If you were to use the comments section below it would be even better, because then all of us could benefit from your thoughts. Thanks again.

 

To your success

Sunil