The Wastebroker Blog

The Easy Way to Infuence Your Way to the Top

What's the one skill that most of us desperately need to improve?  Without a doubt it's our ability to communicate effectively.  And I'm not just talking about your ability to talk to someone else.  Talking shouldn't be confused with communicating because it's simply not the same.

Communicating effectively is really a lost art.  Or perhaps we've just never taken the time to become good at it.  Whatever the reason, it's something that is so easy to improve that it's a shame more of us don't make the effort.

If you can communicate effectively, you can influence any situation in which you find yourself.  If you don't, well.......you can't.  If you've ever sat in a meeting and been subject to a wretched presentation by a colleague, you know what I'm talking about.  People are naturally predisposed to listen and learn from the person who has the floor.  They want the presenter to do well; to make their listening time seem valuable.  The communicator has about 30 seconds to interest the listener.  If he fails, the listener gives up and the communicators ability to influence is gone or, at a minimum, severely limited.

Why do so many of us fail to communicate effectively, especially when addressing a group?  No practice.  Getting up in front of a group scares a lot of us, more than being killed according to some studies (which is silly but true).  What's the difference between talking to your best friend and a group? Nothing really; except that your friend may put up with your rambling and disjointed story while the rest of us won't. 

Sharpening your ability to communicate effectively and influence is easy; but you'll probably need some help.  And you won't likely find that help at work or in your family.  But it's out there.  In fact, it's everywhere.  You can go to an expensive speaking class.  There are plenty, like Ty Boyd's in Charlotte, NC, www.tyboyd.com, and they're great (I went, it's awesome). And then there is Toastmasters International, www.toastmasters.org., a low cost and high return speakers club.  I joined 2 years ago and wish I'd done it sooner.  Toastmasters is one of the best resources available to make you a better communicator.  You learn how to arrange your thoughts, present, influence, write and think on you feet.  There are Toastmasters meetings everywhere so finding one close to your home or office is easy.  The meetings are fun, the people in the club are supportive and, in just a year or so, you can transform yourself from the communicator you are today to the communicator you have the potential to become. 

None of us are expert communicators across the board.  We all have our comfort zones and our danger zones.  Nothing wrong with that, in fact it's natural. But we can all make progress to improve and progress is natural as well.  If you make the effort, you will make the progress.  Simple, yet powerful.   A little action goes a long way!  Enjoy!

26 Letters Can Teach Us A Lot About Our Power to Make a Big Difference

I've noticed that people tend to underestimate what they have to work with, especially when you present them with the notion that they have an opportunity to make a real difference in what they do every day.  Most people look at what they do everyday with a "same old, same old" mentality.  They mistake the comfort they feel in their everyday surroundings with confinement, as if being comfortable is akin to being limiting or defined.  It is not. 

More often than not, we tend to define our own limits, rather than they being defined for us by "them."  And that's a waste.  Just imagine what it would be like to approach every day as an opportunity to make what you do extra special; to think of that one little idea that might be the seeds for the next big industry innovation; to take special care with every person you talk to to create the impression that your care about them and that you can be counted upon to help.  That's not confinement, it's FREEDOM!

As an example, think about the English language.  It's based entirely on the use and arrangement of a mere 26 letters (plus a few punctuations).  Just 26!  How easy would it be to say that such a small number of letters is limiting and confining?  Pretty easy.  But, like with what you do, it wouldn't be true.  It doesn't take but a peek into a library, a look at the TV or an Internet search to see just how much can be created by arranging and harnessing the power of these 26 letters.  Novels, poems, movie scripts, songs......all "confined?" by a group of only 26 letters but nonetheless so powerful!

So if all this, the entire way we communicate, share ideas and express thoughts can be accomplished with only our 26 letter alphabet, imagine what you could do with all the skill and talent you have.  I imagine you could make quite a powerful impact on your job, on your company and, heck, maybe even on the world!  So......What's standing in your way?

Rejuvenating Your Mind and Your Body

I met a friend for breakfast this morning, a guy I meet once a quarter or so to talk about a common interest we have, building better lives and businesses through goal setting.  One of the things I'm learning to do more and more of is Think.  I know that sounds pretty simple.  After all the ability to think is something we're all born with and thinking should be something that comes quite naturally.  Not for me.  I don't know about you but I've actually had to re-learn how to think, how to step away from what I do every day, how to eliminate distractions and how to focus not on a task but on a ideal.  I feel good about the progress I've made learning how to simply Think.

While we're eating, Todd asks me if I've ever had a massage.  I said yes - once - and it made me very uncomfortable and I won't get into why here.  Anyway, Todd's a marathon / iron man kind of guy and I'm, well let's just say, not.  I can barely run a couple of miles and I don't care for any of it.  He goes on to tell me about the power of massage, how it releases lactic acid from your muscles, improves blood circulation, heals muscles and most of all, how it rejuvenates the body.  And as he was telling me this, it hit me.  This is just like thinking.  When you take the time to think, you release your brain's creative endorphins, you improve your ability to focus and you come up with new ideas that you probably never would have other wise.  Same, apparently, holds true for your body! 

I'm going to follow Todd's advice and start making massages part of my regular routine.  I'm hoping that I will experience the rejuvenation that he told me about but I was also thinking that the massage time might just be a great time to THINK as well!