“Good words are worth much and cost little”
– George Herbert
“Wow, I love this. Nice one… nice one… nice one”
A colleague was praising my work yet again in his characteristic loud voice to the hearing of everyone, including the boss.
I smiled sheepishly.
This aspect of his spontaneity endeared him to me.
When I think of him his kind words echo in my ears; I must admit that I have mostly fond memories of this colleague.
Words are universal and are what we employ when trying to put out best foot forward when meeting people, during a pitch, interview or a date.
There are three things to consider if we must win with words or get a positive outcome.
1.Compliments: Compliments are the delicious starters for many conversations and as described in the scenario above, they trigger a feeling of worth or happiness. There is however no better compliment than remembering someone’s name. There’s hardly any word that strokes the ego like a person’s name. Once, I met someone who took this issue so seriously, he implored me not to forget his name. I made it a point of duty to commit his name to memory. Ironically, the next time I saw him a few days later, he couldn’t remember my name. If you feel good when people remember your name, it’s only fair to return the compliment.
2.Countenance: Even though this does not exactly constitute spoken words, it is in a sense, words on display. There will be a break in transmission if the sweet words from your lips don’t match the expression on your face. A small smile suits almost every conversation and a timely nod shows you’re listening.
3.Questions: It is a great idea to give the other person(s) an opportunity to contribute to the conversation; it shows you are interested in what they have to say and there’s no better way to do this than to ask questions- particularly questions that are relevant to the discussion or meeting. Speaking of questions, what other ways do you win with words?
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