The Pros and Cons of Do’s and Don’ts

Here's a tip I recently sent to SpeakerNetNews.com for their excellent weekly ezine:

Use positive verbs to tell the reader or listener what TO do rather than what NOT to do.
Telling them what not to do leaves them without guidance once they’ve followed your
suggestion. With many areas of expertise, people have been told what not to do all
their life (i.e. Don’t eat that, don’t spend that, don’t go there, etc.) You will be of much
greater service by saying what TO do.

The additional risk is when the reader or listener doesn’t notice or wasn’t aware that a
particular list is headed with “Don’t” or “Myths.” There is an unnecessarily high likelihood
of misinterpretation and misunderstanding.

This applies to tip sheets, tip booklets, books, audio products, speeches, interviews,
and any other format you can imagine.

Here's a response I got from one of their subscribers:


In the early years of my career I was an economics professor. My third year teaching, I was determined to help my students avoid a common error that introductory economics students make. I explained the error in detail, told the class why it was an error, what the correct analysis was. I did everything I could to help them understand the erroneousness of the common fallacy. Then I gave them the exam, and they did far worse than classes had my first two years of teaching. One of my best friends on the faculty was an educational psychologist. I told her my story, she laughed, and said, "They remember what you emphasize and repeat." They don't remember all the details, like you saying 'This is wrong,' but they remember the concept you went over time and time again. So in the future, just tell them what's right and accept that a few of them will make a mistake."

Thanks for the reminder.

Bill Conerly

Better decisions through a better understanding of the economy! www.ConerlyConsulting.com

' Thought you'd find it interesting.

Until next time,
Paulette
http://www.tipsbooklets.com