In his Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech William Faulkner
expressed the following:
"The writer's duty is to help man endure by lifting his
heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and
compassion and pity and sacrifice which has been the glory of his past."
Do my messages lift your heart?
Do they give you hope and courage to endure?
The question we constantly ask ourselves is, "What's In It
For Me?" It's critical to take this into account when we communicate
with others, otherwise we will likely lose them as an audience! My good
friend and mentor
Joel Weldon
introduced me to this idea many years ago. He called the idea "WIIFM" and
aptly stated
it is the radio station we are all constantly tuned into.
When we start a conversation with someone, what is our focus?
When we center our attention on the interests of the other person, our
results will be better than if we concentrate on our desires. Nevertheless,
the most significant person in the world should be ourselves. When we are
true to ourselves and take care of our thoughts we can, in turn, take care
of those who are important to us.
"What's In It For Me?" If we do not ask ourselves this
question, our dreams and desires will be left on the shores of a never
ending stream of information. When we are realistic and realize it is not
being egotistical to take care of ourselves first, we open the doors so
others may do the same.
There are several words which are vital to make other people
feel important. A writer can ask the following:
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Who are my readers? |
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What are their interests? |
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Where do they read my messages? |
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When do they read what I have to say? |
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Why should they take time to read my thoughts?
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How can I make my messages more interesting to them?
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 The
objective of every profession and occupation is to help others get what they
want. A doctor provides a means to better health, a lawyer provides answers
to legal questions, a financial consultant gives advice to increase capital,
an insurance agent delivers solutions to protect valuables, a store supplies
goods and services which increase the quality of life and a supermarket
distributes food to eat.
I love reading commentaries from my readers. Those which are
positive and uplifting give me renewed energy to continue writing. Those
which give direction and advice help me improve what I do. I am grateful for
them all for they enable me to deliver messages which answer the question,
"What's In It For Me?"
When dealing with others we can direct our attention to what
is most important to them. Whatever we do and wherever we live, we depend on
others to achieve our dreams and desires. When we focus on what others need
and want, magically we then achieve what we ourselves need and want. |
