Enhance your personal brand with positive language.
Whether you realize it or not, you have a personal brand. And the makeup of that personal brand is mainly attributed to how you speak about yourself, your experiences and other people; as well as how you treat other people (a topic for another blogpost).
If you speak 15% positively/85% negatively about yourself, your experiences and other people, you have a negative personal brand.
If you speak 85% positively/15% negatively about yourself, your experiences and other people, you have a positive personal brand.
If you speak 50% positively/50% negatively, you have a neutral personal brand.
Negative language, such as criticism, blame and stinging sarcasm can create tension and conflicts. The bodily response to such language is elevated cortisol levels and a higher level of cytokines, markers of inflammation. It’s actually taxing on your system to be around predominantly negative people to the point where you simply want to avoid them.
Positive language, such as encouragement, gratitude and empathy, can build trust, connection and closeness. The bodily response is lower cortisol and inflammation and increased activity in the brain’s reward center, making the person feel happier and more motivated. That’s why people gravitate more towards predominantly positive people.
So, it’s important to be intentional with the language you use and try to elevate your words whenever possible:
“Once you have finished your paperwork, you will receive your insurance cards.” vs. “Until you finish your paperwork, you will not receive your insurance cards.”
“In the future, please speak to Jim to avoid that situation again.” vs. “You should have spoken to Jim first before you did that.”
“I can meet you at 10 a.m. tomorrow to discuss the issue.” vs. “I don’t have time for this right now.”
“Do you have any thoughts or questions I can answer?” vs. “Does that make sense to you?”
“Thank you for being patient and helping me when I made that mistake.” vs. “Sorry that I messed up.”
When you practice using positive language, on the inside, you improve your self-perception and mood, since your words affect your thoughts, and your thoughts affect your emotions. On the outside, you inspire others and create a friendly atmosphere around you.
It’s never too late to enhance your personal brand with positive language. People will catch on quickly, and you will be amazed by how differently they respond to you.