Positive Framing

17 Feb Positive Framing

Positive Framing is a mindset and a style of communicating. It can improve relationships and can be used effectively in all business settings. Think about the last meeting you attended, or the last email you wrote or your telephone call with a client.

Positive framing is:

1. Saying what you do know

2. Saying what you can do

3. Remembering your goal

4. Focusing on what you do want rather than what the problem is – solution oriented

5. Trying to eliminate the use of “Don’t” and “not”

6. Trying to eliminate other ‘negative’ words where possible

7. Stating a positive thought first

8. Using and or so rather than but – Build on a premise by using and –  this is constructive

Use positive framing for:

Participating in Meetings: Present your ideas of what you do want. This leads to a discussion of how to achieve that. If you start a discussion about what is not happening, or what you do not want or what is going wrong, the conversation can derail to follow a track of whether or not that is true. It puts people on the defensive and makes them want to prove that things are not going the ‘wrong’ direction. By saying what you do want, you inspire others to follow your line of thinking and build from there. Or use positive framing to add to others’ ideas by building on what they have said.

Evaluating & Giving Constructive Criticism: : Positive framing can be used for evaluating a person or project. If you think in terms of the 8 points listed above, you put yourself in the mindset of what you do want to happen. It is easy to go down the road of what didn’t happen, what the project didn’t reach, or what the person didn’t achieve. If you first reflect and put yourself in a positive framing mindset and work at using positive words, thinking about what you still need to achieve, using and – which makes you build on something (so there must be something to build upon) then you are conveying a path to progress and success. Remember, “constructive” means “building”. Ensure, through positive framing, that you have constructive evaluations.

Persuading: To persuade others, there are many factors to consider. Consider the fundamental point that people will only do something if they want to. Sounds simple, and it is true. So what makes people want to do something? That is where perspective comes in and certain aspects of human nature. Essentially, we want to do something that benefits us. This can be overt, like we get a reward, but it can also be subtle like making us feel good about ourselves. Other aspects of human nature is that we like to be right and we like to feel important. So all of these factors can be built upon using positive framing. 

Expectation management: When managing expectations, it is often a temptation to explicitly say what you won’t or can’t do. You want to be clear, after all. Before explaining what can’t happen, think for a moment what conditions would have to be met in order for you to do X. Then explain it that way. For example: People cannot travel now because of Covid regulations, so we can’t set up any events abroad. =  Once the Covid regulations change and people can travel again, we will be able to set up events. This leads to a different result in the thinking of the other person. The first message leads to a dead end. The second inspires to think about any groundwork or preparation that can be done while waiting.

Saying No and setting boundaries: This is similar to the Expectation Management. Think in terms of what conditions would need to be met in order to do X. Also, think in terms of options! For example, someone asks you to do something for them and looking at your schedule, you do not have the time. With negative framing, you might be tempted to just say: No, I don’t have time. This may make you feel uncomfortable and may also give the other person a bad feeling. You may think that your only other alternative though is to say yes, but you don’t want to do that as you really don’t have the time. So think in terms of options: You can say, I am busy today so I can do that for your tomorrow or next week. Or, I have xyz to do today, if someone can help me finish these things, I can free up some time to do that task for you. Or, I am busy today, maybe you can ask …. to help you, I think she may have time and would be able to do that task (and if she has any questions, she can ask me).