Ice Chip #135

Remember the Ice is a very simple concept.  It is like a recipe....

Take a look at this:

The real, the original, the authentic Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie

Recipe

* 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

* 1 teaspoon baking soda

* 1 teaspoon salt

* 1 cup (2 sticks, 1/2 pound) butter, softened

* 3/4 cup granulated (white) sugar

* 3/4 cup packed brown sugar

* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

* 2 eggs

* 2 cups (12-ounce package NESTLE TOLL HOUSE Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

* 1 cup chopped nuts

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COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.  Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large mixer bowl.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, gradually beat in flour mixture.  Stir in morsels and nuts.  Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE in preheated 375-degree [Fahrenheit] oven for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.  Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

PAN COOKIE VARIATION:  PREPARE dough as above.  Spread into greased 15" X 10" jelly-roll pan.  Bake in preheated 375-degree  [Fahrenheit] oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool in pan on wire rack.

FOR HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING (>5200 feet):  INCREASE flour to 2 1/2 cups; add 2 teaspoonfuls water with flour; reduce both granulated sugar and brown sugar to 2/3 cup each.  Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, drop cookies for 8 to 10 minutes and pan cookies for 17 to 19 minutes.

(I realize you may be inspired to bake up some of these world famous cookies, and I would love to share them with you... they are my favorite of all time).

So how in the world does a recipe for cookies relate to Remember the Ice?

Think about it.  Look again at the recipe.  Do you see any "(K)notty Words"?

NO!!  None at all.

The recipe focuses on the simplest and most impactful concept in Remember the Ice:

 

Tell me what you would like me to do.

 

Words mean things.  When we pay attention to how we articulate our message, we can, and will get better results.

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Remember, if you would like to have your website content Re-Framed, remember to check out the Articulation Proofing service on the Product page.  Many of you have already taken advantage of the free copy of "(K)notty Words" in Action eBook and/or the Empowering Stories eBook.  Both are still available – just request them in your email to me.

Empowering Regards,

Bob

Ice Chip #134

Here is another confusing example of "(K)notty Words" in Action.

Many hotels are on board with an environmental effort to minimize the impact of laundering the towels they provide guests.  Here is an example of the message we saw as we drove the Alaska Highway on our recent move to Renton, WA.

How much easier would it be if they just asked guests to consider using the towel again.

They could erase the comment about their "Don't Throw in the Towel Program", because it is telling them to throw them in.

How about:  "Keep them on the rack."

The simplest and most impactful concept in Remember the Ice is:

Tell me what you would like me to do.

Words mean things.  When we pay attention to how we articulate our message, we can and will get better results.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remember, if you would like to have your website content Re-Framed, remember to check out the Articulation Proofing service on the Product page.  Many of you have already taken advantage of the free copy of "(K)notty Words" in Action eBook and/or the Empowering Stories eBook.  Both are still available -- just request them in your email to me.

Empowering Regards,

Bob

Ice Chip #133

Here is a sobering story that will grab your attention.

Words mean things.

If you wonder about the power of word choice and how we respond to our utterings -- consider the following.  (This was an incident that occurred in Ohio on March 6, 2009)

Man shoots self in head after allegedly killing wife, children

This headline caught my attention.

Then, I read the story.

CLEVELAND---A man who killed himself a day after allegedly killing his wife and four others told a judge in 2005 that he was ready to be a law-abiding citizen who would not let society down if he was released from prison.

"I swear to you from the bottom of my heart that I WILL NOT let you down.  Let my wife or children down. Let my family down. Let society down. Or especially, let my self down."

Davon Crawford wrote to Cuyahoga County Judge Michael Russo. Crawford, who was freed in 2007, shot himself in the head Friday afternoon when confronted by police not far from the house where his wife, his sister-in-law and three young children were found dead, said Police Lt. Thomas Stacho. Police said Crawford is suspected of killing them.

His passionate plea could have been much more effective if he would have been congruent in what he wanted to do:

• Lift up his wife and children
• Step up to being a better father and husband
• Truly decide to rehabilitate after several poor choices

Unfortunately, his script was a bit of a fulfilling prophecy.

Words mean things.  When we pay attention to how we articulate our message, we can and will get better results.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remember, if you would like to have your website content Re-Framed, remember to check out the Articulation Proofing service on the Product page.  Many of you have already taken advantage of the free copy of "(K)notty Words" in Action eBook and/or the Empowering Stories eBook.  Both are still available -- just request them in your email to me.

Empowering Regards,

Bob

Ice Chip #132

Hello fans of Remember the Ice, I am glad to be back.

We have relocated to the Seattle Area and are excited about a new adventure we are pursuing.  More importantly, I am excited to be bringing the regular Ice Chip to you once again.

Hopefully you have been sharpening your saw of awareness of "(K)notty Words" and doing an effective job of eradicating them.

As a quick refresher:  When you see a phrase with one of the 28 "culprits", remember to ask yourself one of these simple questions.

• I wonder what they would like to have happen?
• What is it I would like to do?
• How would this work if I reframed the question with empowering words?

We have developed a great tool you can use to identify the "(K)notty Words".  It is the KWC:  "(K)notty Word Calculator".

The instructions are on the page and easy to follow.

If you would like to have your website content Re-Framed, remember to check out the Articulation Proofing service on the Product page.  Many of you have already taken advantage of the free copy of "(K)notty Words" in Action eBook and/or the Empowering Stories eBook.  Both are still available -- just request them in your email to me.

All the positive best, and Empowering Regards,

Bob