Tuesday, September 18, 2012

When to Tell the Truth...

What do I mean by “tell the truth?” The truth is that which is based on something provable.
This Communication Quality is always important, but extremely important as a presenter. As a presenter, you are in a leadership position and people will repeat what you say. So state the truth.

The Truth About Gossip

Also, don’t state things that are not valuable, such as gossip. The best rule of thumb I can give you on keeping gossip out is to talk only about things that will move a person’s goals forward. If it doesn’t do that – don’t talk about it.
Along the lines of stating the truth based on something you can see or witness, many times presenters will substantiate what they say with a newspaper or magazine article and I’ve done it myself, which is how I learned why it can come back and bite you. There are occasions where this is okay, but it’s actually giving undue support to the media as a whole. What you’re saying to your audience by quoting them is, “The media is the authority.” I’ve not found the media to be worthy of this position.
Just imagine what happens when a presenter quotes something favorable from “XYZ” magazine. What we’re saying to the audience is that XYZ is a worthy source of true information. Then later XYZ writes a negative article on network marketing – what are we supposed to say then? Are we to say the media is biased against network marketing because we don’t advertise? But this contradicts what we’ve been demonstrating from the front of the room.

Quote the Source

There is a way to substantiate what you’re presenting without giving the credit to the media. Quote their source. Meaning, if they say that unemployment rates are at 7.2%, don’t quote the magazine. Quote where the magazine got their data.
So, let’s say that Newsweek writes an article about high unemployment. Read the article and in the article it should state something like, “According to the latest unemployment figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.” There it is – that’s the source. Quote the Bureau of Labor Statistics yourself. Don’t give the power to the media; there’s no reason to.
The power the media has is based on where they get their data from. A journalist or a news anchor doesn’t themselves have any power or authority. Think of a weather reporter; they are dependent on a storm for their power. It’s the same with any other type of reporter.

The Frustrating Truth

Sometimes in Ambit can we get financial results that we can’t say, even if it is the truth! Trust me, I know this is frustrating. 
Something else on “tell the truth” is to be honest in all your dealings with other Consultants. Every single thing you do is showing the people around you whether you can be trusted or not. If you sneak a new downline member into a training meeting that costs $10 or $20, you’re telling that new downline member that you can’t be trusted. They may at the time act like you’re being cool, but they’ll never forget that deep down you’re dishonest.

Always Tell the Truth

But also share things in their best light. Some people get very literal on the subject of “tell the truth” and feel that if they don’t tell their prospect everything that is negative then they are not telling the truth.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I rarely discuss leadership as an abstract subject because I feel leadership is not a “discussion.” It is about BEING down in the trenches doing things and helping people accomplish things. But, something has come up in this discussion on telling the truth that has prompted me to want to share what I feel is the senior most important thing in leadership.
I’d like to hear your thoughts on this important Communication Quality called, “Tell the Truth.” What have you seen that you feel needs to be changed? What do Ambit Consultants on TeamBlitz do that is or appears dishonest to others? Please leave your comments below. 
Next Steps: Want to gather more customers and recruit more associates? Discover all 10 Communication Qualities that will make all the difference between earning $200 a month and earning $2,000 a month. Or even $20,000 a month. You’ll find them on our Ambit Pro Inviter calls at www.AmbitPro.EnergizeYourChoice.com.

No comments:

Post a Comment