I appreciate clear sharing. Clear sharing provides me with information or instructions I can implement. If sharing is not clear, it might entertain me or inspire me in the moment, but it has no lasting effect. This is called 'frothy emotional appeal'.
Clear sharing tends to comprise the following five points. The order varies depending on the content.
Does it sometimes sound didactic? Absolutely. But better that than an hour of froth that gives me no single tool to use in my life, no single insight to alter my perception.
Clear sharing tends to comprise the following five points. The order varies depending on the content.
- Make a point.
- Explain the point.
- Illustrate the point with an example.
- Reference the literature.
- Place it in the context of the programme.
It's totally clear when someone is putting themselves in my shoes, asking, 'How would someone that does not yet understand this point need it explaining to them?'
Does it sometimes sound didactic? Absolutely. But better that than an hour of froth that gives me no single tool to use in my life, no single insight to alter my perception.
Panache, wit, and energy help the medicine go down. But they are secondary to the medicine.
Clear sharing doesn't just 'happen': it happens when people decide they want to actually convey a message to people, and spend time, effort, and energy considering how to do it and practising it over and over again, in meetings, with sponsees, and sometimes in anticipation of those two opportunities.
There is great play made of spontaneity. If you can convey great content spontaneously, wonderful! But give me slightly stilted yet highly nutritious content over fast-food froth any day of the week.
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For instance: when talking about alcoholism being progressive, I might explain that that means that it gets worse as I get older, and I might illustrate it with the example of needing more and more alcohol whilst getting less and less of an effect, combined with the fact that, once I resumed drinking, it was becoming harder and harder to get sober again. I might then cite passages from the Doctor's Opinion. I might then place that in the context of Step One: the physical craving and the fact that no slip is safe because I might never stop. The fact that I have stopped before does not mean, if I started, I would stop again.
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'But the ex-problem drinker who has found this solution, who is properly armed with facts about himself, can generally win the entire confidence of another alcoholic in a few hours. Until such an understanding is reached, little or nothing can be accomplished.' (Page 18)
'Seeing much of each other, scarce an evening passed that someone’s home did not shelter a little gathering of men and women, happy in their release, and constantly thinking how they might present their discovery to some newcomer.' (Page 159)
'Our very lives, as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our constant thought of others and how we may help meet their needs.' (Page 20)
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For instance: when talking about alcoholism being progressive, I might explain that that means that it gets worse as I get older, and I might illustrate it with the example of needing more and more alcohol whilst getting less and less of an effect, combined with the fact that, once I resumed drinking, it was becoming harder and harder to get sober again. I might then cite passages from the Doctor's Opinion. I might then place that in the context of Step One: the physical craving and the fact that no slip is safe because I might never stop. The fact that I have stopped before does not mean, if I started, I would stop again.
* * * * *
'But the ex-problem drinker who has found this solution, who is properly armed with facts about himself, can generally win the entire confidence of another alcoholic in a few hours. Until such an understanding is reached, little or nothing can be accomplished.' (Page 18)
'Seeing much of each other, scarce an evening passed that someone’s home did not shelter a little gathering of men and women, happy in their release, and constantly thinking how they might present their discovery to some newcomer.' (Page 159)
'Our very lives, as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our constant thought of others and how we may help meet their needs.' (Page 20)