The Old Razzle Dazzle

My stepdaughter was substitute teaching a rowdy 5^th grade class the last week of school. One of the kids stood out as the ringleader and bully of the class and she had been clamping down on his behavior all morning. At recess, she noticed him going over to a little 2nd grade girl to start in on her. Right before my stepdaughter was ready to intercede on the girl’s behalf and grab the bully, the little girl twirled around with her finger pointed at the boy and said, “No one appointed you my life coach, so just stop!”

What a response. That little girl is my hero. To have that kind of confidence to handle a bully at that age and disarm him is impressive. I also like it because she used language that was firm, non-threatening, and just quirky enough that it left the bully speechless.

Think Before You Speak

The words you use and choose are so important. Common wisdom about leadership often stresses the importance of leading by example. You might not think too much about how your team interprets what you say, but your words can have a huge impact, positive or negative, on your team’s morale and productivity.

Are you careful in the words you choose? Real communication is essential for success. How you communicate your intentions make a big impact on your team by either creating trust or destroying trust. As Mark Twain said, “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—it's the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”

Banished Words

Last week in our two-part series Improving Positive Communication for Both Your Employee and Patient Experience, we learned that every year since 1976 Lake Superior State University announces a list of banished words. They believe the right words and terms matter. Here is their list of banished words for 2023:

1. GOAT
2. Inflection point
3. Quiet quitting
4. Gaslighting
5. Moving forward
6. Amazing
7. Does that make sense?
8. Irregardless
9. Absolutely
10. It is what it is (previously banished in 2008)

I don’t know if I agree with all of them. Personally, I am a fan of “It is what it is,” but I will try to refrain from using it.  But here is the bottom line: The key to communication is being able to pull the right word or phrase out at the right time that will inspire or disarm the person you are trying to reach. When you choose the right word you can be like my second grader friend who rendered the bully speechless.

On a fun note, if you have a word you would like to banish, the University is accepting nominations for 2024 words. You can learn more and submit your word here: https://www.lssu.edu/entry-form-for-lssu-banished-words-list/

Is there a list of words that dazzle others? If not, I think we should start one! That’s the view this week from where we sit.