According to Dr. Richard Wiseman’s book, 59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot” when it comes to persuasion, likeability is key. There’s a phenomena called the “spontaneous trait transference” (hmm, sounds like an episode of the Big Bang Theory) Essentially, when you pass along positive comments about a colleague, the listener subconsciously applies those same positive traits to you. In other words, the nicer you speak about other people, the nicer people think YOU are. Thanks Michael Kerr, professional speaker and author, for writing about this phenomenon in your informative ezine! Mike has a lot of likeability!
Ask yourself as a leader, how many times a day do I speak nicely of my staff? How many times a day do I speak nicely of my partner? The domino effect can not only have a positive effect on others but an everlasting effect leading to employee engagement, happiness and ultimately a healthier work-life balance.
I always tell my kids, “when someone is talking ‘smack’ about others, they are talking ‘smack’ about you”. Now I can tell them, “implement stt rather than std- it’s just as catchy”- no pun intended.
