Coaching

A positive approach will help you achieve results, and that is true of communication, too. Positive thinking leads to positive speech, and positive speech is a lot easier to remember than negatives. But mainly, positive speech will lead to positive action and thus to success.

There is no ducking this decision, because positive and negative thinking are mutually exclusive. The two mind sets block each other out.

At first glance, positive thinking may appear to require more effort. After all, it’s a lot easier to state the problem and make clear it’s what you don’t want. It’s much harder to come up with a suggestion for a solution saying something like: “Here’s how we can organize and communicate effectively.”

But stick with the problem, and you’ll be stuck with it. Focus on the solution, and that’s where you’ll be going. All negative thinking does, really, is to bind your energy. A lot of meetings still run in negative mode. Try to change that. It doesn’t take much, just you rehearsing a handful of key messages ahead of the next one. You’ll be surprised how suddenly people get going and things get done.