IMHO, ISO, J/K, BRB, LOL … the list goes on and on when it comes to what many “older” generations might consider the “foreign language” of texting. However, most individuals—no matter their age—are adapting to this new form of “language” in order to relate to younger generations—namely children, co-workers, etc.
In some ways, learning this new online/social media/technology language can feel like learning a traditional foreign language. Yet, unlike the prevalence of this new “talk,” less than 1 percent of Americans can claim fluency in the traditional foreign languages taught from American high schools and/or colleges.
There are a number of reasons for this—most of which I won’t tackle in this post. However, there is an essential step in retention of ANY information, particularly a new language: use. How often are students using the foreign language that is currently required to graduate from high school and college? They aren’t. Putting the benefits of actually learning a foreign language aside, based on the above statistic, the majority of students don’t have a perceived need to use their foreign language.
The LOL Everyone Should be Using
There’s a language more critical for communication and success in your career than any that are currently offered at schools or being used for today’s tech gadgets and apps. There’s a language that paves the way for a better future, a more successful and fulfilling career. It’s a language that inspires, persuades, and provokes lasting change—one in which you will gain enormous self-confidence and communicate common things in uncommon, and memorable ways.
What language is this? The language of leading (LOL)! This language allows you communicate in such a way that prepares you to succeed in school, your career, and life.
Think about that foreign language class that I referred to in a previous post—the same classroom where you previously struggled to comprehend and retain a language that you’d likely not use again. Instead, consider if this new language was eerily familiar. What if, at the beginning of the semester, your teacher made the following claims regarding learning this new language? You’d learn to …
- Win friends and influence people
- Master nonverbal communication techniques, including body language and intuition
- Confidently and boldly deliver messages with purpose
- Listen with intent
And the best part? What you would learn would not just matter in the four walls of that classroom, but in the world around you.
Think how valuable this skill set would have been to you in high school as you transitioned to college. Imagine if you had learned this in preparation for college interviews, and then once in college if that language was built upon, helping you establish critical internships and jobs. And once started in your career, how essential this language would be to climb to the top.
How would this accomplish so much? The language of leading—or the ability to lead—helps individuals develop a mindset of success early on, one that emphasizes the importance of speaking skills, resilience, empathy and emotional intelligence.
Read the papers, watch the news, all we seem to read are words that are destructive, and it’s a daily event. Many of our leaders’ words and actions are offensive and are costing their careers. They never learned the language of leading. They just waited until they stumbled and now suffer the consequences. The LOL teaches you to be conscious not only of what you say, but what others hear.
The way we communicate with each other is critical—from texting acronyms and traditional forms of language, to the language of effective leadership. Learn more about the new LOL by visiting, www.chuckgarcia.com.