Why do you communicate—when you speak…when you write?
Is your purpose just to share only ideas, or do you want to your audience to respond with some kind of action?
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Put your words together for results, not just a message.
From my days as a teacher and trainer, I found two downsides of communicating information:
- The audience writes off what you’re saying because they think they’ve heard it before.
- People hear or read information, and they equate inspiration with implementation. I can count too many times where I have come out of an inspirational experience with great intentions for change but the next day stepping back into an old routine that gets me nowhere new.
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Do more than just inspire your listeners. Accelerate learning by providing specific steps of implementation to complement your inspiration.
Inspiration minus practical implementation leads to self-deception—believing we have become something that we are not. A full head does not equal a big heart with serving hands.
But let’s not knock inspiration too much because inspiration is absolutely essential for growth. Implementation minus inspiration leads to limitation. Only the power and creativity of others can inspire us to more than what we can accomplish on our own.
When we combine inspiration with implementation, we accelerate growth.
My point? Inspire your listeners, but help them to be more than just inspired. What do you want them to do with that inspiration? Help them grow in practical, profitable ways.
Sales people get a bad wrap. But one thing they do well if they’re good at their job is lead people to a decision. They ask for the sale and they close the sale. While working at Best Buy I heard focus group stories of customers who would come into the store with money in their pockets and the intent to buy something specific, but because the sales person did not ask them to buy, they did not make a purchase.
People are listening to you for a reason. What is that reason?
Your reason must be more than just sharing a good story or presenting intelligent, convincing information. It means helping people into thoughts and decisions that will get them putting what you present into practice in some way.
How do you increase results when you communicate? Clearly ask for a specific response.
When working with business clients, I’ve watched employees and leaders use non-response as a way to imply agreement when they really don’t have any plans of making changes. They listen, smile, and sometimes nod, but inside are not moving toward you in any way.
Let’s not create an audience of hypocrites—people who think they are something they are not. When you speak or write, ask for specific responses. Connect the dots for your listeners by giving examples of specific actions that will lead to the result they want.
Do more than communicate a message. Lead people to a better place and make your content count long past the moment your audience receives it.
Questions: What are some ways that you increase favorable results when you speak? How do you help others put into practice positive behaviors that increase results both you and they desire? Leave your comment below.