Don’t push the red button. Don’t even think about it.
Wait. Stop thinking about the red button.
You see where I’m going with this, I hope.
I once had a boss who encouraged us “never to walk in to a room saying ‘sorry’ and I hated the advice at the time. It seemed boorish. But the point he was making was that people tend to remember the first thing you say and do. And if you start off by apologizing, it means they think of you as a penitent wrongdoer. And it’s not a good look.
The same thing, I’m afraid, goes for whatever you say after the word “not.” Consider:
“I am not a crook.”—Richard Nixon. Obviously a crook.
“I am not a robot.”—Every robot, ever, throughout time.
“I am not a serial killer.”—a 2016 film. Oops.
When it comes to communication, I’ve noticed a tendency lately to embrace the opposition’s talking points as a way of diffusing them. In some cases, it’s worthwhile. But do you notice Joe Biden telling folks he’s “not sleepy?”
Not in this political environment.
The ideal way of communicating is to figure out, first, what makes us different from the competition. And then how to express that in succinct, positive language.
You’ll notice President Trump is actually rather good at it. If something dreadful has happened, he’ll often spend time telling reporters what’s “great” about the situation.
It can feel excruciating at the time, but one does realize later that he understands the value of a second in front of a microphone.
Perhaps the worst part about watching him communicate, in essence, is that if only he were actually selling something worthwhile, you realize he could do a very good job of it.
There. That’s my nugget of communications advice for the week. Try not to use the word “not” in your formal communications and you’ll realize you’re soon talking on ground where you can be strategic.
