| How can we think about language as we use it in | | | | -- Future action, what is being offered, requested, |
| business so that we can use it more effectively? | | | | or promised. |
| First, let's consider the purpose of our language | | | | -- Time, when the future action will take place and |
| acts in business. Without attempting to make an | | | | or be complete. |
| exhaustive list, we might notice that we use | | | | -- Conditions of satisfaction. |
| language to: | | | | -- Presupposition of competence. Speaker and |
| -- make an offer (advertise, market, invite). | | | | listener are presupposed to be able to follow |
| -- negotiate and affirm agreements (form | | | | through. |
| alliances, close sales). | | | | -- Sincerity. Speaker and listener are presupposed |
| -- make requests (asking for sales, support, | | | | to be sincere. |
| partnerships). | | | | -- Background of shared obviousness. Speaker |
| It is easy to see that we could not be in business | | | | and listener share enough mutual unspoken |
| for even one day without making offers, | | | | context that they will interpret requests, offers, |
| requests, and promises. In fact, this is one of the | | | | promises in the same way. |
| problems of being in business: We use language so | | | | -- Something missing. The request, offer, or |
| often and so unconsciously that we do not notice | | | | promise addresses a concern, a need, or a |
| whether or not we are being skillful. Indeed, until a | | | | possibility that is not currently taken care of. |
| problem shows up we may not even realize that | | | | At first blush, some of these distinctions may |
| skill is possible and needed. Notice, then, that the | | | | seem obvious, even trivial. Yet how often do we |
| problems you encounter in your business (or | | | | make offers in business without really knowing |
| career, or marriage, etc.) are often signals that | | | | who is listening, hoping that someone will pick up |
| are inviting you to enter into a more skillful | | | | our offer and respond without taking care to |
| conversation. | | | | make sure that they can hear or that we are |
| This notion of problems as invitations to greater | | | | speaking in the language of the ones who are |
| skill is good news so long as we have a way to | | | | likely to hear? |
| respond to the invitation. We need to notice | | | | How often do we fail even to be speakers? "My |
| enough of the structure of language that we can | | | | work speaks for itself," asserts the artist, unable |
| learn as we speak and listen, just as a golfer | | | | to see that for most listeners a different kind of |
| might watch a pro's swing so that s/he can copy | | | | speaker must deliver the message. "I want to |
| it during her/his own game. | | | | build my business through word-of-mouth," |
| These are the distinctions that I've found most | | | | declares the coach or therapist, unaware that |
| helpful. Every request, offer, or promise in | | | | there must be a speaker delivering the message |
| business or out must have all of these elements | | | | for word-of-mouth to begin. |
| in order to be complete. What's more, each of | | | | You are invited to review the distinctions above. |
| these elements needs to be aligned with your | | | | Make a study of one or two that seem to you |
| purpose and must be expressed in a way that | | | | so obvious as to be marginalized in your |
| connects your reality to the reality of the people | | | | awareness. Write the names of these "trivial" |
| with whom you communicate. | | | | distinctions on your calendar or carry them in |
| -- Speaker, the one who makes the request, | | | | your wallet. See if you can notice where they |
| offer, or promise. | | | | might be important or missing your own speech |
| -- Listener, the one to whom the request, offer, | | | | and that of others. |
| or promise is made. | | | | |