I wholeheartedly believe one of the more major ways to beat Procrastination is to communicate well.
There are myriad reasons we may feel unable to communicate well:
- wanting to be polite
- wanting to not seem pushy
- wanting to be agreeable
- wanting to not seem greedy
- wanting to be liked
- wanting to not upset the other person
- wanting to avoid embarrassment
All this wanting leaves us distracted from what we really need to say. It also causes us to delay, oftentimes unknowingly, communicating anything useful at all.
When we do not represent our needs and wants with our words, then we get messed up. We end up feeling:
- distracted
- nervous
- burdened
- misunderstood
- resentful
So, to avoid this, I recommend talking in a straight line. What does this mean? It means say what you mean, and say it in a very straightforward way. Say it plainly, with a calm voice, and with good eye contact. Communicate as soon as you have the impulse to, because that is often the best, most well-timed moment to speak. Ignore your own thoughts that you need to delay speaking to improve your situation. Speaking up will improve your situation. Delay, most likely, will only make your situation worse. Let other people know what you are up to, what you need, how you feel, how you can help, what you think. Do it straight away.
If you are still doubting the wisdom of talking in a straight line, think football. We are always impressed by Tom Brady's passes (straight line) but also can’t help following along when the football is fumbled and no one knows which end is up. Straight line. Straight line to the receiver. The person you need to understand you.
Be like Tom Brady. At least like he throws a football.
What do you need to communicate today? Let me know by leaving a reply here or by letting me know on Twitter @christineliphd.
