We can learn a lot about how to have stronger, clearer, more effective business communication from the wisdom in the book The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.
Last week, I introduced everyone to the book and gave a very brief overview of what the book is and what it has come to mean to me and to other people. I will again highly recommend reading the book yourself to get the full value out of it. It’s definitely worth it!
Today, let’s look at the first agreement, “Be impeccable with your word.”
Impeccable. To be impeccable with your word means to be flawless with it. You not only speak and write correctly with proper grammar and syntax. You are accurate and concise with your word and say exactly what you mean. You also do not use your word to spread hate and negativity about other people or yourself.
In business, most of us should already know by now how important it is to speak and write well, so that people take us seriously and we looked polished and professional. We may not always remember every grammar rule, but as long as we make an effort and can look up these rules if we ever have questions, then being grammatically correct with our communication isn’t too hard to achieve. It’s probably the easiest part of being impeccable with our word.
Being accurate and concise with our communication—this action goes beyond just trying to find that elusive “truth in advertising.” For one thing, we do want to be truthful and not stretch or manipulate the facts. It’s one thing to spin your point of view and say, “Using this soap will save you time, because this powerful soap helps take food off of plates faster.” If it does that, and you can prove it, then that is a fair point of view. The soap will save time, and you want to highlight that fact. It’s a whole other thing to say, “This soap will save you time, because it cleans the dishes for you.” That’s not spin. That’s a lie. Although if someone ever does come up with such a product, my husband and I would like to talk to you. Thank you.
So, beyond just not lying when you communicate with your audience, make sure that your “spin” isn’t getting out of control either. If you have official business to communicate with your audience, like a product recall or policy changes, make sure that your writing is simple, accurate, and reflects everything a person will need to know in order to take proper action.
Don’t be afraid of telling the truth. Even if you have bad news for someone and will have to deal with the fallout, it’s best to be direct and honest. When you are dishonest, you are only putting off telling the bad news and adding to the amount of fallout you have to deal with, as you explain why you lied or weren’t 100% truthful in the first place.
Tied in with being impeccable with your word is not spreading hate and negativity. We see this every day. You ask someone at the office how they are doing. They respond with, “Well, I’d be a lot better if they would supply some decent coffee around here, but our bosses are so cheap, I don’t ever see that happening.”
Wow! That’s a lot of negativity to be hit with. This phrase is very potent—and for all the wrong reasons. First of all, you now feel bad—maybe even sorry you asked the question. You either think, “What a jerk—someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today,” which fuels the negativity with negativity of your own, or you start to feel bad about the cup of coffee in your own hand, which you were enjoying up to that point. You may even think, “Gosh, I thought it was nice that they provide coffee at all. My last place didn’t. I thought it was all right. I guess I don’t know much about coffee.” Your own perspective, even your own self-worth as a coffee drinker, has been cast in doubt. You have internalized the negativity and helped it grow.
This person spread verbal poison about the coffee, the management, the office where you both work, and you and your coffee drinking choices. And this is just coffee. What happens when office gossips start spreading their poison about their co-workers? How many people get hurt then and how deeply?
What happens when a business misrepresents itself or uses its resources to influence a public issue unfairly to their advantage?
We have a great responsibility to ourselves, to our business, to the people who work with us and to the people who buy from us or hire our services to be impeccable with our word in every way. You want to spread the positivity of who you are and what you do—and the positivity of that great idea that got your business started. That is the true meaning of your word and the true purpose—to “use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.”
This agreement is probably one of the most difficult. However, all we can do is our best—which is another agreement that we’ll get to in a few weeks. In the meantime, remember that your word holds power, so use it wisely, and be impeccable with it, in order to get the most amount of good out of it, for you and for others.
Lauren Methena is a writer who knows how to sell who lives and works in Richmond, VA. When she is not helping her clients strengthen their own business communication, she is busy spreading the knowledge and the tools necessary to empower people everywhere to write and to communicate better. Friend her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.
