You’ll have t0 excuse me while I think out loud. Normally I’m sharing advice or inspiration with those who read this blog regularly (thank you for reading BTW) but today I have to have a little talk with myself (have you ever had to do that?). Feel free to listen in.
I’m giving a lot of thought to 2016 already. Christmas will come and I will enjoy it but I’m a planer at heart and I’ve made some social commitments I need to honor, and the only way I can do that is by getting better at my social and personal skills.
The commitments I mentioned are to my
Fresh Impact Newsletter e-mail subscribers
My subscribers are the best. They respond as well as any other e-mail group and maybe a little bit better but sometimes I feel like I am bothering them. I only want to communicate with them when I feel like I have something to say rather than flood their e-mail box with sales stuff and spammy-ness. I want to serve them better in 2016 and offer better content than ever.
YouTube Audience
This past week I posted no videos because I was doing my job, the one I talk with my audience about all the time, so I hope they understand. After posting two videos a week for almost the past year I feel a bit tired, like I may have run of things to say. The feedback from this group is sparse which means I don’t think I’ve challenged them enough and that has to change.
My Blog Readers
You, yes you that reading this. Writing is a first love of mine. Having created videos and compared them to the written word, each have a certain place, but writing is something I can still get better at. It’s a skill I want to grow into. In order to serve you, the faithful reader, I have to expand my thoughts and ideas, become better at not snubbing my nose at shorter and more meaningful posts, and just write faithfully 5 days a week.
Like many of you who my create content as I do, I have thought about giving it all up and taking a long nap, but I just can’t do it, yet. As Rocky said in Rocky Balboa, “I still have some stuff in the basement”. and I’ll keep creating content until I have nothing left to say or share.
So, in order to get better, to be a better servant to those in the trenches, here are the 16 social and personal skills I have to get better at, across all these platforms, if I want any chance at making an impact on people’s lives:
- Creating content earlier rather than in the moment. Get ahead of the game.
- Be more engaging by asking better questions and pushing the envelope
- Be more collaborative and work with those in my industry.
- Be timely, grab hold of timely issues and dig deeper to bring thoughtful commentary
- Watch less t.v, and internet.
- More quiet time and thinking.
- Reward faithfulness more frequently.
- Declare my value more loudly.
- Educate myself though classes like skillshare or Lynda
- Think through to the end but not overthink.
- Change the format up for easier digestion.
- Be consistent in delivery.
- Coax lurkers out of their holes more effectively.
- Sell with confidence not urgency.
- Create a community rather than build a soapbox.
- Listen, Listen, Listen.
Those are my 16, what’s on your list to get better at in 2016?