By Beth Archer/Spoken Word Consultant

Platitude joins “no comment” in list of phrases not to say

Delete the phrase “thoughts and prayers” from your repertoire of go-to sympathetic sayings. It has lost its meaning and no longer conveys what is most important: empathy.

It started losing steam a few years ago in social media discussions about the gun debate. Elected officials often tweeted (and many still do), “thoughts and prayers” for victims after a mass shooting.

However, after using the same phrase several times, it became as stale as candy corn on Christmas. Connecticut Congressman Chris Murphy is cited as one of the first elected officials to challenge the lack of diversity in empathetic expression, with Murphy tweeting in 2015, “Your ‘thoughts’ should be about steps to take to stop this carnage. Your ‘prayers’ should be for forgiveness if you do nothing – again.”

Those leaders that use “thoughts and prayers” are not unkind, devoid-of-feeling robots; they likely are in shock, as The Atlantic recently pointed. When we’re shocked and unable to think straight about an outrageous event, we default to words we use so often they flow without thinking – or feeling.

Without pausing as we tweet to allow ourselves to feel grief, our message loses our intent. We’re not able to communicate our compassion. We lost our authenticity.

I know it’s scary to allow ourselves to really feel our emotions in crises, as it often leads us to feel vulnerable and vulnerability is perceived as no-no for leaders.

What may be good advice for ensuring a job gets done, is not good advice for trying to connect with others. Be vulnerable. Allow yourself to express the emotions that are coming to mind during a crisis.
Is your heart broken? Say so. Are you sick to your stomach about it? Tweet that.

After the heart wrenching mass shooting in Las Vegas in October, Vice President Mike Pence tweeted, “To victims, families & loved ones affected by this senseless violence in Las Vegas, Karen & I are praying for you & offering our love…”

See what he did there? He tweeted what he actually felt. It’s authentic and empathetic and an example for all leaders to follow in times of tragedy.

Rest in peace, “thoughts and prayers”. We’ll put you right next to “no comment”.

Beth Archer is a Spoken Word consultant based in Texas. Connect with her on Twitter at @BethArch.

The post RIP “Thoughts and Prayers” first appeared on Spoken Word Communications.

United CEO Oscar Munoz, in an effort to halt the downward spiral of United’s stock, finally spoke out on Good Morning America.

The post United CEO Apologizes on GMA first appeared on Spoken Word Communications.

You’ve no doubt seen the original interview with Professor Robert Kelly in which his children interrupted him to the extreme fodder of viewers. Well, a week later the Professor and his wife and children were back on BBC to explain what happened.

The post BBC Interrupted Skype Interview Explained first appeared on Spoken Word Communications.

Though he doesn’t come across as the most savvy of speakers, Ryan Lochte does do a nice job of apologizing for his mistakes at the now famous gas station bathroom in Rio.

The post Ryan Lochte Admits “Exaggeration” to Matt Lauer first appeared on Spoken Word Communications.

Howard Dean brought back the “Dean Scream” at last week’s Democratic National Convention. For those of you that don’t remember, the “scream” virtually ended Dean’s presidential campaign when he sought out the democratic nomination in 2004.

Here’s a refresher of the famous first one:

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6i-gYRAwM0

The post The “Dean Scream” Returns at DNC first appeared on Spoken Word Communications.

Things got a little awkward when Florida Governor Rick Scott refused to answer a question regarding his “friend” Donald Trump’s statement about Muslims.

How do the MSNBC hosts respond? By cutting off the interview and going to commercial.

Ouch!

The post MSNBC Dumps Florida Governor When He Refuses to Answer Question on Trump first appeared on Spoken Word Communications.

Sarah Palin expressed her “disgust” on being questioned about some controversial statements she had made a week earlier regarding her son, President Obama and PTSD.

What’s sad is that such a seasoned politician and media darling couldn’t handle a simple little question that should have been expected.

The post Sarah Palin “Shocked” About Question on PTSD first appeared on Spoken Word Communications.

Golfer Ernie Els was awarded the 2015 Payne Stewart Award for his charitable contributions outside the game of golf. When the award was given recently in Atlanta, Southern Company CEO Tom Fanning, who’s company sponsors the award, was asked to introduce Els. His remarks were outstanding. Instead of rambling on about Els he came in with a plan and more importantly, a message.

His remarks begin around the 4 minute mark in this video. They only last two minutes and it’s well worth the watch.

The post Excellent CEO Introduction first appeared on Spoken Word Communications.

Here’s the clip so you can see for yourself. Not surprisingly, the company’s stock was down over 20% at one point during Monday’s trading.

The post Lumber Liquidators CEO Fails 60 Minutes Test first appeared on Spoken Word Communications.

Imagine the surprise when Bill Belichick took the podium this morning and gave a 7+ minute statement, mostly without reading and came across as credible and sincere. Who ever thought we would be using the words credible and sincere when discussing Bill Belichick?

Don’t get too excited though, when the questions started he was back to his old ways. Someone really needs to introduce Bill to the bridging technique.

Here’s the video for your viewing pleasure.

The post Who is this man posing as Bill Belichick? first appeared on Spoken Word Communications.