Hello Friends!
I must apologize because I’ve been on a blogging vacation due to some unanticipated circumstances.
This morning I was going through my Google Reader and came across a post from one of my favorites, Seth Godin. In the post Seth sets down George Orwell’s thoughts on how to be a good writer and then points out some of the reasons that he thinks business writing sucks.
Seth’s hypothesis is that people are afraid to take responsibility for their thoughts because they might be criticized.
I believe this goes for all of our communication in life.
On more than one occasion I have run the risk of offending people because I have said what I felt, not what I think is acceptable or that won’t hurt someone’s feelings, but exactly what I think is the problem and what I think is the solution.
But, if you look around, we have a lot of problems that need solving in our communities and we will only solve them if people take the time to solve them and aren’t afraid of hurting a few feelings along the way. (Trust me, when the solution works out, the complainers are going to still be hating on something else or they are going to be your biggest champions.)
So here are a few Dave rules for telling it like it is:
1. Be direct.
2. Say it in easy to understand language.
3. Don’t be dissuaded if everyone doesn’t agree with you.
That’s really it. If you have an idea or a thought and you want or need to share it, those 3 rules will get you there.