Positive Language

From our Motiv8ing Ideas Archive

The eminent psychiatrist John H Reitmann once said that "It takes an average person almost twice as long to understand a sentence that uses a negative approach than it does to understand a positive sentence".
Negative language is such a destructive virus, starting with the user and spreading to listeners. Regrettably we all too often use negative words and phrases without a thought to their potential impact.

Just have a listen around....

...why do we use two negative words ("not bad") when someone asks us how we are??

...why do we use the word "they" so often when we are simply referring to people who work in the same organisation as we do??

...and, for sure, there are many other examples.

So let's focus this month on Positive Language. Here's the steps...

• actively listening to the words, tone and intonation we use when we speak

• capture anything negative, "delete" it, and replace it with a more positive word, tone, or intonation; keep practicing this process until it reaches the point where the negative things are filtered out before they are expressed

• set a target to replace 2 negatives per day, and have a "treat" for each achievement

• ask for support, and challenge, from our partner/colleagues

• keep a record of all language changes made, and keep monitoring against this "dictionary".

Positive Language is such a tonic, starting with the user and spreading to listeners.

"DID is a word of achievement
WON'T is a word of retreat
MIGHT is a word of bereavement
CAN'T is a word of defeat
OUGHT is a word of duty
TRY is a word each hour
WILL is a word of beauty
CAN is a word of power"
(Anon)

"I am my message"
(Gandhi)