The Power of AND

“And” seems to have a powerful effect on people and communication.  Here are two tips for improving your communication with “And”…

Keeping Conversation Alive – Studies have shown (ok, I have no idea which ones but it makes this bullet point that much more believable) that people will view you as more positive and likable if you are able to “go with the flow” and keep the conversation alive.  For example, if someone were to tell you “My cat died today”, you could either say “Wow, that sucks”, or you could say “AND what was her name”, or “(AND) I had a cat once when I was growing up”.  Sometimes you don’t have to actually say the word AND – it just helps you to think of something nifty to say in case you don’t know what else to say.

Better Criticism / Arguments – Take this example – “I’m done with the first document, but I need more time to complete the second”.  People will only hear the last part of that message.  However, with the Power of AND the sentence becomes – “I’m done with the first document, and I need more time to complete the second”.  Wow!  Look at how much more you are getting done with this last one.

..and with that, I’ll leave you to ponder.