By Gail Kirkegaard, June, 2008

I'm a person of words. It's what I do. My aim is to keep words short and few. To choose a single word most likely to lead to success, I'd say it's the word 'smile;' just five letters that are undeniably the most valuable raw materials a business assembles.

I need to be more aware of my expressions. If I'm nervous in front of people, or when I'm focused on my work, I'm not always revealing an attitude of interest and helpfulness.

We're meticulous about putting our products together correctly. People don't want things that have been assembled wrong. For me, it's the documents I write and publish. Spelling and grammar are critical tools in my trade. Used incorrectly, words can make a sentence confusing.

Look at the word 'smile.' If we place the letters in the wrong order, we can get 'limes.' Your mouth tightens at the corners, your cheeks ball up and your eyes squint. Rather than happy, you have a sour expression.

A colleague can take the same letters and produce 'miles.' Great. You can use that. It's more indicative of what a smile has to offer your business. You can go far with a simple smile.

People are comfortable around happy people. Smiling makes us appear confident and successful. Smiles improve our mood by their mere suggestion of joy.

We assign a value to everything in our inventory; a number that reflects an item's worth. What value can we give a smile? If we optimize use of them in our business, consider how smiles contribute to our bottom line!

See if you can recognize this little song:

"I've got something in my pocket, it belongs across my face.
I keep it very close at hand, in a most convenient place.
I'm sure you couldn't guess it if you guessed a long, long while.
So I'll take it out and put it on, it's a Great Big Brownie Smile!"

I was a Girl Scout leader for four years. This was a well-loved tune. How can I have extra smiles in my pocket to pass around? I'm sure an encouraging word or offer of help would suffice.

Gail


Gail Kirkegaard: Business Writer
720-201-8743
www.gailkirkegaard.biz
gail@gailkirkegaard.biz