Ice Chip #149
You may remember last year at this time I took a look at the ever popular event in Washington known as: The State of the Union Address. I shared a bit of a spin and called it: The State of the Onion.
Here is the link: Ice Chip #105
This past week, President Obama again shared his vision -- or perhaps his campaign speech -- designed to position himself for the upcoming election. From a word choice perspective, he once again demonstrated poor word choice on numerous occasions. His speech was 7313 words long; 518 sentences; and 181 "(K)notty Words", including 29 multi-word sentences - which only compound the confusion!
Here are some excerpts from his speech, with the "(K)notty Words" highlighted in a faint shade of red and crossed out; to show they dissappear from view. (Remember the initial story of Remember the Ice... Don't forget the ice became... Forget the ice!)
Now read the excerpts and ask yourself is that what he wanted to say? When "(K)notty Words" are part of your landscape, the view is cluttered and cloudy.
Following the examples, we will offer an empowering alternative using some of the Re-Framing Five (Do, Can, Will, Would, Could) to articulate the message more clearly. (We will do the first one, then you can work with the other two. First 5 who sent their Re-Framed message will receive a digital copy of both Remember the Ice and Other Paradigm Shifts and Exceptional Care for Your Valued Client.)
Our experience with shale gas, our experience with natural gas, shows us that the payoffs on these public investments don’t alwayscome right away. Some technologies don’t pan out; some companies fail. But I will notwalk away from the promise of clean energy. I will not walk away from workers like Bryan. (Applause.) I will not cede the wind or solar or battery industry to China or Germany because we refuse to make the same commitment here.
Our experience with both shale gas and natural gas shows us that the return on these public investments can take some time. Some technologies do pan out; some fail. I will persist with a promise of clean energy. I will support workers like Bryan. We can and will succeed on creating effective wind, solar and battery industries here in America, because we are willing to make the commitment here.
So give it a go. How would you Re-Frame this one?
ButI will not back down from making sure an oil company can contain the kind of oil spill we saw in the Gulf two years ago. (Applause.) I will not back down from protecting our kids from mercury poisoning, or making sure that our food is safe and our water is clean. I will not go back to the days when health insurance companies had unchecked power to cancel your policy, deny your coverage, or charge women differently than men. (Applause.)
Here is the third excerpt.
The point is, we should allwant a smarter, more effective government. And while we may notbe able to bridge our biggest philosophical differences this year, we can make real progress. With or without this Congress, I will keep taking actions that help the economy grow. ButI can do a whole lot more with your help. Because when we act together, there’s nothing the United States of America can’t achieve. (Applause.)
Hope you had your Re-Framing muscles working. Look forward to hearing from you.
Empowering Regards,
Bob
I am so honored to be in concert with Bob Proctor. If you would like to know more about the Home Study program: The 11 Forgotten Laws, please click .
Ice Chip #148
This week's Ice Chip heads down a slippery side of the iceberg...
We are taking a look at two taboo subjects:
- Religion
- Politics
Here are a few examples of "(K)notty Words"in action occurring in these two arenas that are full of subjective opinions.
Have a look, and remember:
Words mean things!
Think of how you might Re-Frame the messages, send your comments to me: bob.nicoll@remembertheice.com
The first five (5) who do will receive BOTH of my books in digital format.
Here you go. Enjoy the exercise.
Ad from a heated campaign in Alaska - 2010
What is the message of this bumper sticker?
Twitter is loaded with comments like this.
Interesting billboard in the Netherlands - courtesy of my friend Jakolien Sok from Amsterdam
Another campaign bashing attempt - from the 2010 Alaska Primary
Across the pond in the UK, this billboard photo was contributed by my friend Martin Dewhurst, from Manchester, England
Saw this Church marquee while driving on the Old Glenn Hwy toward Palmer, Alaska
Thank you to Mark Taylor, from Huntsville, TX for this great example of "(K)notty Words" in Action
Hope you had your Re-Framing muscles working. Look forward to hearing from you.
Empowering Regards,
Bob
Ice Chip #147
This week's Ice Chip is from a blog I wrote for my dear friend Beth Anderson, posted January 11, 2012. Enjoy!
Words mean things!
As a Re-Framing Word Smith, I am focused on the juxtaposition of words and the resulting behaviors. My dear friend Beth Anderson brought me a gift from her trip to South Africa in 2010. Here is a picture of the gift.
Beth knows that I have a passion for eradicating the “(K)notty Words” and she enjoyed getting these two items for me to review. When she gave them to me at the 2010 BNI International Directors Conference, I just shook my head. Each book is only 5 inches tall and 3 inches wide however their “(K)notty” message is magnanimous.
Blanche Ebbutt was the "Dear Abby" of her generation and wrote Don'ts for Husbands and Don'ts for Wives in 1913 as straight "how-to" guides to improve marital relationships. They contain hundreds of snippets of entertaining advice for a happy marriage, which rings true almost one hundred years after they were written. Here is a comment from one of London's leading Newspapers since 1896:
“Words of wisdom for a happy marriage from nearly a century ago…The advice comes from a set of guidebooks on marriage written on the eve of the First World War…Penned by Blanche Ebbutt in 1913, they were first published at a time when women stayed at home while their husbands went out to work. Times have changed since then, but the advice could be considered as relevant today as ever.”—The Daily Mail
As an expert in re-framing the message, and eradicating “(K)notty Words”, I take issue with the suggestion of “advice for the reader”. Have a look at one of the pages from the Don'ts for Wives book (Page 31).
Based on the Remember the Ice Philosophy (Click here for the story) this pages encourages wives to:
- Be out when your husband gets home.
- Let him have to search for you.
- Skip the kiss of greeting
- Greet him at the door with a catalogue of the dreadful crimes committed by the servants during the day. (One of my favorites... lol)
- Think your husband horrid if he seems a bit irritable.
Yikes!!! Would you really want to behave in this manner? Would you want to be treated in this manner?
Let's take a look at a page from the Don'ts for Husbands book: (Page 11).
Again, here is the mixed message offered as advice:
- Sulk when things go wrong.
- “Nag” your wife. If she has burnt the cake or forgotten to sew on a button, she wants to be told over and over again. (You have got to be kidding me!)
- Scowl and look severe.
- “Let off steam” on your wife or children every time anything goes wrong in the garage or the garden, or the fowl-house, or the dark room. (This last one could be grounds for building a case for how potential abuse occurs....)
Stop and think about the power of words. Each one has meaning and can change the course of an event.
Each of us is in the business of sales & marketing. Whether it is products and services to clients and prospective customers or ideas and suggestions to our children and partner; we are engaged to both the transfer of those goods and services as well as improving the selling environment. Remember the Ice helps you create the best environment and increases the results.
For more information on how your organization can benefit from understanding the power of word choice, contact Bob Nicoll, creator of Remember the Ice, the leading training company on how to: Increase your Sales by the Way You Compose Your Message.
Bob Nicoll
Chief Paradigm Shifter
Remember the Ice
907-862-1983
Ice Chip #146
When I trained with Tony Robbins back in 1991, I experienced and learned several life changing concepts including overcoming phobias, doing a fire-walk over 1000 degree hot coals and transformational vocabulary. One of the most powerful lessons I took with me from his Neuro-Associative Conditioning Systems (NACS) Certification program in Kona, HI that July; was the mantra:
Repetition is the mother of skill.
~~~Tony Robbins
In Remember the Ice, this mantra is like a heartbeat. When I founded the concept two days after returning from my experience in Hawaii, I knew right away that Repetition would be one of my greatest allies in changing life-long word choices.
Many of us have been told to stop saying "can't" by our parents when we were young children. The amazing thing is that usually within minutes, the parent was saying something like, "I can't get that to work" or "I can't believe what you did" or "You can't do that anymore" or some other phrase with "can't" firmly entrenched in the comment.
I have witnessed this happen thousands of times in my life, paying particular attention to it since July 23, 1991 -- the birthday of Remember the Ice.
So with the idea of eradicating "(K)notty Words" firmly entrenched in one's speech patterns, it is necessary to remind yourself over and over to say what you would like to have happen.
Let's review the initial sign that started this concept: Don't forget the ice. We know that the "not" becomes invisible in the comment, and the customer is left with the only logical conclusion: Forget the ice. Yikes!!
So, this week's lesson is:
Instead of telling ourselves or our children or co-workers what we think we are incapable of, or terrible at or just plane dumb about -- in the interest of resolutions and repetition; let's focus on what we want to have happen.
Let's commit to using the Re-Framing Five more often: DO, CAN, WILL, WOULD, COULD!
Have a BETTER week by using BETTER Word Choice!
Empowering Regards,
Bob
Ice Chip #145
Happy New Year!! - Part 2
Recently, I received an email from , a fan of Remember the Ice. She is the Grammar Goddess and specializes in Editing and Proofreading. Here is the text of her message:
Hi Bob – First, happy new year! I hope the holidays have been joyous for you and your family. Second, I saw this blog post and immediately wanted to put this woman into your (K)notty Words Protection Service! What, you don’t have one? Why not? Smile!
Best regards,
Susan
Here is the link to the blog post:
The post focuses on a poem called “A Creed to Live By” by
Here is the text of the poem that tells you what not to do so that you can live a rich and full life being the best you possible.
Don’t undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others.
It is because we are different that each of us is special.
Don’t set your goals by what other people deem important.
Only you know what is best for you.
Don’t take for granted the things closest to your heart.
Cling to them as you would your life, for without them life is meaningless.
Don’t let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or for the future.
By living your life one day at a time, you live all the days of your life.
Don’t give up when you still have something to give.
Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.
Don’t be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect.
It is this fragile thread that binds us to each other.
Don’t be afraid to encounter risks.
It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.
Don’t shut love out of your life by saying it’s impossible to find.
The quickest way to receive love is to give love.
The fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give it wings.
Don’t dismiss your dreams.
To be without dreams is to be without hope; to be without hope is to be without purpose.
Don’t run through life so fast that you forget not only where you’ve been,but also where you’re going.
Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way.
As one who is passionate about removing the “(K)notty Words” from the English Language: Not, Don’t, Can’t, Won’t, Wouldn’t, Couldn’t, Shouldn’t, Should, But, Try, and a few more (see my complete list on: http://www.remembertheice.com/knotty-words/toolsscore-php/ ), I am curious; why on Earth would anyone motivate themselves or others with the opposite of what you want? Why focus on what to avoid when it's by far more powerful to focus on what can be accomplished?
If you are familiar with Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), chances are you have heard the infamous question:
“If I say to you don’t think of the color blue, what color did you just think of?
The answer is BLUE. Even though some will attempt to be clever and say some other color; the fact still remains they thought of BLUE first.
My point is simply this: Using don't, or any other "(K)notty Word" creates confusion. Look what happens when I remove the “don't”s in her poem. (and a couple of “but”s)
Undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others.
It is because we are different that each of us is special.
Set your goals by what other people deem important.
Only you know what is best for you.
Take for granted the things closest to your heart.
Cling to them as you would your life, for without them life is meaningless.
Let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or for the future.
By living your life one day at a time, you live all the days of your life.
Give up when you still have something to give.
Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.
Be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect.
It is this fragile thread that binds us to each other.
Be afraid to encounter risks.
It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.
Shut love out of your life by saying it’s impossible to find.
The quickest way to receive love is to give love.
The fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give it wings.
Dismiss your dreams.
To be without dreams is to be without hope; to be without hope is to be without purpose.
Run through life so fast that you forget where you’ve been, and also where you’re going.
Life is a journey to be savored each step of the way.
Regarding Ms. Sims words, her message offers great inspiration in her second statements. In my opinion, she could have enhanced her overall message by stating what she wanted people to aspire to — here is her message minus the “(K)notty Words”
Stop undermining your worth by comparing yourself with others.
It is because we are different that each of us is special.
Avoid setting your goals by what other people deem important.
Only you know what is best for you.
Appreciate the things closest to your heart.
Cling to them as you would your life, for without them life is meaningless.
Stop living in the past or for the future.
By living your life one day at a time, you live all the days of your life.
You still have something to give.
Nothing is really over until the moment you stop doing.
It is healthy to accept that you are less than perfect.
It is this fragile thread that binds us to each other.
Be willing to encounter risks.
It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.
Know that love is easy to find.
The quickest way to receive love is to give love.
The fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give it wings.
Hang on to your dreams.
To be without dreams is to be without hope; to be without hope is to be without purpose.
Appreciate and embrace your life — where you’ve been, and also where you’re going.
Life is a journey to be savored each step of the way.
~~~~~~~
Thoughts are things. Words mean things. Maybe by focusing on what you want to accomplish you can lead yourself to numerous levels of success. There is Power in the Clarity of your Articulation!
“People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
―
Make a determined effort to change your thoughts. Eradicate the “(K)notty Words” and start right now using the Re-Framing Five: Do, Can, Will, Would, Could.
Happy New Year!!
Bob