Do you ever think about your impact on others? Is it normally positive? Do you help others, or are you one who is more for self? Do you inspire others to be their best? When given the opportunity, do you gladly teach others what you know, or expect them to get it on their own? If those who know you best were asked if you inspire them, or if your behavior with them is negative, what do you think they would say about your impact on them?
I am feeling guilty writing this, for I know I am (once again) writing about what I need to learn. While there are a couple of people who come to mind that would honor me by saying I have inspired them, there are just as many who would state that my behavior with them is more negative than positive. How about you?
Having a positive impact on others is one of our greatest opportunities. We never know what other people are dealing with. We may be the one person who lifts another up when she/he is going through a difficult time. We may also have the opposite effect on that person.
This really isn’t complicated, although it isn’t always easy. How do we assure that our influence on others is positive? One of the most important ways we do this is by how we communicate.
Our tone of voice is either warm and engaging, or harsh and demeaning. Of course, there are gradations of these, and we can be somewhere in-between these two extremes. While we may not be warm and engaging, we may take comfort in the fact that at least we aren’t harsh and demeaning. But that is a false comfort, for we should expect no less from ourselves than to be warm and engaging with all others. We should strive to lift others up, not to bring them down.
We have the opportunity to bring out the best in others, to inspire their best. How we interact with others is one way we do this. We can inspire positive change in others just by how we communicate with them. While tone of voice is important, there are other variables that are also important.
The words we use matter. If our words are aggressive, they will not create a positive interaction. One example of aggressive words can be “always and never.” These words are often accompanied by “you,” such as, “You always,” or “You never.” We know this isn’t really true, for no one “always” or “never” does something. These words are usually said in an exaggerated tone of voice.
The best communication style to use with another person is assertive, not aggressive. There is a major difference in assertive and aggressive.
I will leave this discussion where it is, before it seems like a theoretical discussion. Suffice it to say that we should strive to create a positive interaction with others. When we do, we have an opportunity to inspire positive change in others.
Interestingly enough, we also inspire positive change in ourselves.
It's In The Sauce! 