John Adair's 100 Greatest Ideas for Brilliant Communication

Idea 9: Accentuate the positives

None love the messenger that brings bad tidings.

Sophocles, Greek playwright

In almost any form of communication – meetings, interviews, public speaking – it is always good policy to start with a positive if you possibly can. It might be a short word of thanks or repeating something that is already known, but it really can smooth the way for a productive meeting. A negative start always produces a negative response.

Remind yourself

Try to find two or three positives to start off with. If you do have some blunt things to say that might be considered negative, always have ready a few solutions or creative ways forward ...