Lifestyle coach entrepreneur: I love your work. Would you like to speak at my online Summit?

Me: I’d love to. Thanks!

Lifestyle coach entrepreneur: Do you have a mailing list of over 5,000?

Me: No, I don’t.

Lifestyle coach entrepreneur: Sorry, I don’t think this is going to work out.

Me: (internally): Ow.

***

This little interaction symbolizes to me what I feel is out of balance in how we communicate and what we value today, especially online. How we communicate can change the world, and it can rip it apart (e.g. this presidential election cycle). Whenever we communicate with someone, online in particular, we can aspire to remember:

1. Real communication fosters real connection.

2. Behind every stat, click, photo, email, text, and comment is a human being with joys and pain that are probably similar to our own in some way.

3. We can be kind, respectful, calm and joyful in our communication and still create our desired impact.

4. Fast, frequent and urgent doesn’t always equate to important, valuable, and meaningful.

5. A small email list or social media following of trusted community members can have as great an impact (although it may be a different one) as a large one.

6. Compassion, kindness and connection matter as much as clicks.

The speed, ease, accessibility and reach of communication tools today gives us all tremendous power to heal and to hurt. Let’s use them to lift each other up.

How would you like how we communicate with each other to transform?

***

The next session of the Juicy Blogging E-Course: The Art & Play of Blogging is October 3-31, 2016. Earlybird pricing ends September 22nd.

Photo by me.