LANGUAGE OF TRUST

The other evening I had a “we’re still not communicating” conversation with someone who had acted badly. In a time where trust has gone astray and doubt is the norm, how do we build and keep the trust of the people most important to our organizations and ourselves?

Michael Maslansky takes a line of reasoning in his book The Language of Trust in a World of Skeptics that “for every issue there are multiple, reason­able points of view.” Right now in IL, when the state budget hole is so enormous social service providers aren’t being paid and education is on the chopping block, it is hard to find a reasonable point of view from the No-New-Income-Tax legislators. He points out that, “… when faced with the task of convincing someone of something—that taxes should be raised, that banks should be bailed out—we find it hard to comprehend why everyone doesn’t share our point of view.” Exactly! How best to present our point of view in the face of diametrically opposed opponents?

I have a little brain trust of experts I turn to on questions such as these, my Communications Task Force. We all need one of those. I’m lucky to have Dan, Kathleen, and Nina a click away. If you don’t have such a group at your disposal, check out Maslansky’s book. Go here for excerpts: http://languageoftrust.maslansky.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/LanguageofTrust_BookDigest.pdf