I Am Throwing Them in the Dishwasher
After writing 70+ editorials this year, I have come to the sobering realization that there are some editorials that I will never write. Writing requires a few essential elements – a topic, a writer, and one or more readers. Absent any of those three components, the process crumbles into the recesses of the writer’s mind, never to see the light of day. If the writer has a bit of OCD, this becomes a problem. The topics sometimes refuse to go away, blocking the imagination from offering new topics.
Have you ever lost something in your home, like keys or a remote, and you find yourself checking some ridiculous and random places where you know they would not be discovered, like the dishwasher, just to eliminate that from your conscience so you could free up more brain matter for better search ideas?
It’s kind of like that. I have had this list of topics nagging at me, but for various reasons, I will never write them. So, I am throwing them here in the dishwasher so I can be free to pursue more pressing ideas.
Say My Name. I wanted to write a piece about the importance of remembering people’s names, along with various tricks and tips to be more successful. I was going to push back on people who claim, with no remorse, “Oh, I’m just not good with names.” Remembering names for professional communicators is even more essential, causing an adverse impact on relationship building. I could have shared a half dozen tips, like repeating the name immediately upon hearing it, “Nice to meet you Bartholomew.” And repeating it through the conversation, “So, Justine, how long have you lived in Wolfeboro?” There are mnemonics and other techniques. But in the end, I figured that people who work at remembering names would agree with me and those who were not would simply gloss over the editorial like a forgotten name. And it’s too bad, because I was going to play off the song, Say My Name by Destiny’s Child. It would have been cool.
I Got Two Strong Arms, I Can Help. I guess I have a thing for songs; this one was a bit inspired by Billy Swan’s I Can Help (1980). I liked the title, but I keep dating myself. Such a small percentage of readers would know or care about the reference. But I was stuck on it because I liked it so much. I spent most of my life, professionally and personally, not asking for help. Ego. Male pride. Embarrassment. Introvert. Not sure why. But I finally outgrew that hang-up this last year and thought I had something to share with other versions of my younger self out there. I was going to share examples like how many friends helped me figure out how to make a video, getting advice from neighbors on NextDoor about pressure washers, and where to find Jeep tires. Even asking my daughters to help me rehearse lines for the play I will be in. I was going to conclude with all of the benefits and reveal that it is actually a sign of courage to ask for help. Maybe I should have asked for help writing this one. It’s a shame, because it would sure do me good, to do you good.
It’s the Little Things. This was a rare example of not finding a fun title. I love coming up with titles. In fact, I don’t always have a subtitle, but when I do, it is either because I loved them both or one of them needed to play off the other. But it was more than that. I truly believe the little things in life are big and deserve more attention. I actually tried to draft this a few times and found it difficult to give examples of things that were little but should be thought of as big. Does that make sense? If I use too little of an example, you might not be convinced that it was big. If I used a bigger little example, you may think, well of course that is big and not little. Even as I was typing this blurb I got frustrated, so I took a break. I scrolled through social media and came across a rendition of the song “Tomorrow,” sung on Britain’s Got Talent by Sydnie Christmas. I have never been a big fan of the song before. Cute, but not impactful. This version gave me a whole new perspective. It truly inspired me to believe in washing away the troubles of a day through a true belief and love for tomorrow. Spectacular. This is worth three minutes of your time today. Maybe it can be a little thing, more meaningful than anything I could write, that will inspire your day and help you appreciate the little things just a little more. You’re welcome. I love you tomorrow, like I have never loved you before. It just hit me – I could call the editorial Tomorrow with a sub-title of The Little Things You Do Today Will Make a Better Tomorrow.
Survey Says…. I’m not a survey fan. Or much of a personality test fan either. I thought about writing on either or both. But I kept stopping. I see so many surveys that don’t start with a baseline. That mitigates so much value. The way the questions are asked almost always slants the results. There are certainly individuals who are well trained in surveys, but most of the surveys are not written by them. So, the surveys go out, come back, and decisions are made based on a 24% completion based off poorly written questions. Yikes. The personality tests are more of a mixed bag. Fun to take and chat about. But not many people really apply what they learn from them and their colleagues two weeks after they take them. And even if they did, it is just one factor. I am an INTJ, Eagle, Concrete Sequential, Left-Brain, Gemini, born under the sign of the Ox. Good luck applying all of that in figuring out how to negotiate with me in the board room. In addition, I am an Alpha at work and an Introvert at home. My first question is – which of me are you asking this question. The answers would be different. But I will never write about these two subjects. There are too many people I greatly respect who fully disagree with me. Besides, as a Gemini, I may change my mind tomorrow.
Because I Said So! This one piqued my brain for a while. I thought there was something to be said for the idea that we are working at a time when younger generations perform better when they understand the reasons for what they are doing. I would have started with an anecdote about one of the times my parents said this to me as a child, but I honestly could not remember a single time. I wasn’t going to make something up, so my introduction was already in trouble. As I thought more on it, I also felt like this topic would be better told by the generation that needs it. I don’t care how a TV works or why I have to attend twenty budget meetings during the year. Tell me to take the hill and I will take the hill. It would have been disingenuous for me to be the author. It would have come across like generation-splaining (I think I just made that up). If this resonates with you, feel free to write it. There is something there worth telling.
The Length of a Scene. I think this editorial still needs to be written and maybe someday. I am going to make up numbers because I do not remember them exactly (part of the reason my introduction was stalled) – but in the 1960’s and 70’s movie scenes could easily last thirty or more seconds. I was in college in 1981 when MTV first started airing music videos. A professor pointed out that it was rare to ever see an MTV video scene last more than fifteen seconds. More recently, I read that the average scene in a music video is between one and six seconds. That is our attention span ladies and gentlemen. Strategic communicators need to grasp and hold the attention of their audiences. In addition to the speed of the scene, that requires entertainment and persuasion. These are not topics you hear about often in formal training, yet they can easily be the difference between success and failure. I have countless examples to share. In hindsight, I was probably biting off more than I could chew in one editorial. Maybe I should break down scenes, entertainment, and persuasion into separate papers. Convince me. Quick.
The One-Minute Employee. I briefly mentioned this in a previous editorial and thought for a long time that it deserved its own paper. I am a huge fan of The One-Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard. I thought I was being clever, and it would be useful to flip that around, especially in a world where we are learning to manage up, to help employees figure out where they could use these strategies in reverse. Well, the first thing I do when I come up with an idea is conduct an internet search. I want to make sure I have come up with something new and fresh, to include the title. This time, I found that two people beat me to it, with a far cleverer name, The 59-Second Employee (staying one second ahead of your boss). I give credit where credit is due. They nailed it. I would recommend it to anyone trying to catch up to their boss. I don’t mind so much that they beat me to the idea, but it sure was humbling that they came up with such a perfect name. If I had only thought about it for one more second.
Emotional Intelligence. I passionately believe that professional communicators should be able to demonstrate empathy, effective communication, social skills and self-awareness – the foundational aspects of emotional intelligence. Personal relationships benefit as well. There is a ton of material on this topic, easy to find. All I would have left to say is to encourage people to learn about it, learn about themselves, and leverage those skills to be become better communicators. There. I just said it. That didn’t need an entire editorial. And I empathize with everyone who took the time to read this much.
I have to go do the dishes now. I know the remote will not be there. I also know that I won’t find any good topics there. Anyone want to challenge or dare me with a new topic idea? You have six seconds to keep my attention.
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Stoneking Strategic Communications (SSC) 