Then What?
The “Back to Basics” Series
“A truly good book teaches me better than to read it. I must soon lay it down, and commence living on its hint. What I began by reading, I must finish by acting!”
— Henry David Thoreau
American Philosopher, Author of Walden
“Then what happens?” It’s enough to drive a parent to distraction. As kids, we soon learn to leave parents well-enough alone or face their wrath… But that’s what we want: To know what happens…
It’s only when we become “adults” that we start hiding our interest in what comes next…
A lot of adult speakers seem to have imprinted their parents’ admonitions about not being so aggressive, so forward, so irritatingly focused on the next hill, the next filling station, the next town. “Are we there yet?” is greeted with derision, leaving a big impression… And a bad one at that.
So, as speakers, we take great care to hide action steps deep in the structure of the presentation. Try as they might, they can’t ferret out what it is we want of them! Money? Commitment? Loyalty? Action? What?
The greatest complaint from listeners today is that they can’t figure out what the speaker had in mind… “There was no specific outcome; No clearly defined Next Step.”
What’s the worst that could happen? Surely, we can live with a little “No.” Is our entire self-regard so finely balanced on the scale of one decision? Does our life depend on it?
So, No! But a “No!” to this request may echo down the corridors of our mind and remind us of some more historically bad outcome… Ok sure. Any presentation presumes the risk of rejection — but also the potential for the win.
If nothing else, putting up a great argument, superbly delivered, is enough to put a positive mark in your corporate history — even if the specific issue was not going to win. We hold with P. T. Barnum: “Just spell my name right!”
Now, isn’t the real point to get this one over and get on the road to the next one? So why not find a way to streamline the process and get to the end (win or lose) quickly?
As I said to my Doctor recently, “Let’s get it over with!”
Applications
1. For You
Forget the inhibitions. Let ‘er rip! In your personal life, it’s always better to know what happens next — no matter what happens. So bring that awareness with you when you teach, sell, seduce, or play. Know the next step, build a clear path to it, and know what happens after. That puts you in the driver’s seat of every relationship. And That, is a great place to be!
2. For the Family
Knowing or Having a next step is not the same as letting it all out of the bag — as great parents have discovered. Keeping What’s Next up your sleeve is part of great story telling — and making them wait through the climb up the mountain, the entire confrontation with the evil Prince, the disappearance of the magic stone, the Princess in distress; it’s all theater — and absorbing at that… The unknown secret is to let them know there’s an outcome, a next step, an end to the story. But you’re not going to tell them… not… just…. yet.
3. For the Workplace
We sometimes draw things out at home, or in day-to-day life. But the workplace is always under pressure. To produce. To sell. To move on… So here’s where being concise, clear and decisive pays dividends in quick decisions, and in the respect of colleagues, juniors, superiors and clients.
Get to the end quickly and tell them what you believe they should do! It’s still their choice, but if they know you’re going to lay it out clearly and quickly, they’re going to start thinking of you as someone they can trust. That’s what’s next!
Editor’s Note: Every next step, outcome, action request or “ASK!” should be ethically grounded i.e., the best for all concerned.
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