The Lack of

There are so many descriptive words that indicate lack of awareness, skill, or intelligence. Not all of them mean the same degree of deficiency. Not all of those conditions are necessarily the same.

Here's a little teaser to demonstrate how different words may seem the same but in actuality, the intent of the word conveys a different concept from what could be considered its synonym. Try your hand at inserting what you feel is the correct word [highlighted in bold type] in the following sample, based on what you believe the subject/protagonist status is:

Frankie did an amateurish job of the project. It was a first attempt with no instruction and no assistance. Those who viewed the result felt embarrassed. Others felt sympathy for Frankie. Still others wondered why Frankie was selected instead of someone with at least an introductory awareness of the desired outcome.

As for Frankie, he wasn't certain if he should admit his ignorance, talk about his stupidity, or just end all conversation and say he was dumb.

Yes, Frankie was experiencing that emotion called shame. The shame drived from a lack of knowledge.

A woman who was doing work for the first time in a new industry shamefacedly told her supervisor she did a poor job because she was dumb. Now "dumb" indicates several things. However, her supervisor took the time to explain the difference between being "dumb", being "stupid", and being "ignorant". Each is different. In her case, it was a matter of the fact that she'd not had exposure to the particular circumstances nor awareness needed in order to do that particular project. Therefore, her lack was a type of ignorance, not stupidity or being dumb.

There are different circumstances that gave rise to the results for Frankie. Care to talk about why you chose the word you did? We're all ears.

Resources:

• The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader: Becoming the Person Others Will Want to Follow
  
• Capabilities for Talent Development: Shaping the Future of the Profession (What Works in Talent Development)
  
• Leadershift: The 11 Essential Changes Every Leader Must Embrace
  
• Creating Capabilities: The Human Development Approach
  
  
• If you enjoy writing and want a place where you can be challenged while receiving constructive feedback on your expressions, consider joining WordWizards, an international writers community (requires Yahoo email address).
  

Having a Voice

Some us are writers and desire to express ourselves in whatever is our style. Some of use mixed genre, fiction, nonfiction, advocacy, poetry, informative speech, humor, romance, reportage, opinion. We desire to entertain, educate, provoke conversation and thought, critical thinking, emotion and release.

Some of us use writer venues to practice and prepare our public presentations. Critiques of those rough drafts are essential. There are alternatives to writer groups. There are books. There are courses. The tried and haphazard "do it yourself" in a vacuum behind your locked [fill in the correct word] door. Of course, there's the mandatory practice in order to learn, perfect, develop the ability to do more effectively and faster with little concentration involved because the practice has caused delivery to become instinctive. And there's the critical thinking involved in creating the content.

Unfortunately, some audiences don't leave comments or evaluations so the speaker/presenter moves on in blindness while attempting to sort out for their own selves what was good and effective, what needs attention (as well as specific attention). That's when it becomes rough going because self evaluation and critiques can sometimes focus on adjusting what doesn't need attention - while other parts need work. (Isn't it wonderful that there are content editors available?)

Some of us simply want to convey our joy through a particular type of communication and share it with the rest of the world. But that "P" word [practice] is a critical part of lifting one's voice. The message needs to be effective and attractive so that it can be heard through the speaker's (writer's) voice.

So being part of a communication group, be it Toastmasters, a writers group, a class in some form of writing, is critical to perfecting the message and shaping the voice so the message can be heard.

The beauty of some online writers groups is that they focus on more than merely producing content. Some more effective groups engage in conversation about what some styles are - and then launch into practicing that style. Others share awareness of venues where content is being sought or availability of venues where a certain type of content is sought for publication. They become an unofficial Writer's Market via word of keyboard.

The point is we have voices that convey a particular message in a particular style for a particular reason. Rather than writing in a vacuum and have reception of the message go through hit-or-miss success, it's far better to use our social skills to practice using our voices raise the effectiveness of what's said.

Do you know the name of your Muse?

For Your Consideration:

• WordWizards online writers group
  
• So You Want to Start a Podcast: Finding Your Voice, Telling Your Story, and Building a Community That Will Listen
  
• 3 Tips For Writing Web Copy That Converts
  
• How to Use Imagery: 9 Songwriting Tips with Andrea Stolpe
  
• HR Genius
  

Engagement

Telling a story involves having a subject, attracting your audience to the narrative, and making them glad of the experience (generally speaking).

So what can the subject be? Sometimes it's a person and what they experienced. Then the question becomes why should anyone be interested in the story of Joe or Jane Doe? There needs to be some unique matter about the person (or their experience) that causes curiosity about them, a type of intrigue that creates a hunger to know what happens next.

At this juncture, hearken to the post image. It's merely an athletic tote. Or maybe it's a travel bag. You know, there's a possibility that it's merely a storage bag filled with nondescript items that puff it out and make you wonder what's inside. Just image if it's an unclaimed item for sale at a public storage facility. Maybe it holds the stash that was part of the 1938 bank robbery. That one's not plausible because the bag wouldn't be made of synthetic fiber. Then again, maybe that old lost stash got transferred from the leather bag into the synthetic because (for some reason) the leather needed to be replaced with a more sturdy material. (See how that goes?)

The key is creating engagement with the audience. They may see the image but something needs to be added to the recipe to entice them to discover more - and keep learning more as the the story unravels.

So what's the story associated with the tote?

You May Be Interested:

• New-Book-Plots-Constructing-Storytelling
  
• The Storytelling Edge: How to Transform Your Business, Stop Screaming into the Void, and Make People Love You
  
• Hone your skills in WordWizards