Communication: Say What You Mean

Perhaps the question above conjures a video in your head of being at a high school game of some kind of sport and hearing cheerleaders call out “Let me hear your

[insert your Mascot here] spirit!”  And you, along with the rest of the crowd, call back – “What’s that you say?”   The cheerleaders repeat, “Let me hear your [insert your Mascot here] spirit!”  And again, you, along with the rest of the crowd, call back – “What’s that you say?”  The chant continues one or more times before everyone breaks into cheering in stereo.

Yes, it’s great when we know exactly what someone means, because it helps us understand how to respond. Although this may be the norm at a football game, it is not the norm in everyday communication. In fact, people are constantly saying one thing … but meaning something else.  An example:

Your coworker asks,

“Hey, could you help me out and look over this report?  It will only take a couple minutes.” 

You tell them,

“Sure.” 

What you actually mean is,

“I want to help because you have helped me in the past, but I can’t right now.”

Watch the video or read on!

Communication doesn’t need to be a guessing game. It just doesn’t!  If we all communicated with what I call POWerful communication, we would get things done easier, quicker, and better. Doesn’t that sound kind of attractive? Let me clarify before I give you this week’s challenge … saying what you mean is best when done with tact and professionalism.

Here is my challenge for you … decide what you are going to say and then do a check and balance to ensure your message is POWerful. The check and balance requires asking yourself, “Is my message:

• clear
• direct
• confident, and
• respectful?”

If the answer is YES, then you are ready to say what you mean.