We tend to think that we can’t change other people, but in reality, people influence us all the time.
When we’re talking to people, especially negative people, we can feel the effects pretty quickly. If they’re stressed, we feel more stressed. If they’re worrying about something, we often feel more anxious in the midst of that.
This power to influence people has the potential to transform the trajectory of our lives and our business and educational outcomes if we tap into it. Specifically, research in positive psychology and neuroscience shows that this type of positive influence fuels business outcomes like performance, profitability and levels of engagement.
When we put out positivity and an optimistic, empowered, resilient mindset to the people around us, it transforms conversations in a way that’s beneficial to other people and ourselves.
As you move throughout your day, incorporate the idea of the Power Lead: starting off conversations with other people by sharing something positive and meaningful.
For example, if someone asks “How are you?”, instead of answering, “I’m stressed. I’m busy,” lead with something positive like, “You know what, I’m doing great. I had breakfast with my son this morning. He was so cute.”
Or if you’re a sales professional, come up with one piece of information about your company or your product that you can offer to a client that transforms how the conversation unfolds.
By starting off positive, we encourage others to match in kind and we get ultimately different conversations and different results.
I was originally a journalist and news anchor, so when putting together a story we’d start by following the old adage “if it bleeds it leads”. As you move throughout your day as a broadcaster, broadcasting information to the people around you, you can ask yourself:
What’s my top story? What adage am I following? Is it “it bleeds it leads” or am I putting out a positive, optimistic, resilient mindset to the people around me?
Experiment with the Power Lead. Try it with somebody who is maybe a little negative at the office or when you come home from work and you’re talking to your spouse.
What Power Lead can you share that prompts them to match in kind?
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Michelle Gielan, national CBS News anchor turned positive psychology researcher, is the best-selling author of Broadcasting Happiness. She is the Founder of the Institute for Applied Positive Research and holds a Master of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.
Michelle is an Executive Producer of “The Happiness Advantage” Special on PBS and a featured professor in Oprah’s Happiness course. Her research and advice have received attention from The New York Times, Washington Post, FORBES, CNN, FOX, and Harvard Business Review.
