#speakwithpurpose

[khaebonilla]

Words Have Power: Writing Responsibly in the Digital Age

Photo from freepikRossana Snee is the author of Papi, Por Favor! a brilliant new take on the young romance genre. Yet, when writing for teen

In a world where every post echoes, ✨ Words Have Power: Writing Responsibly in the Digital Age ✨ reminds us of the impact our voices carry. 🖋️ Let’s share with kindness, integrity, and intention—because words may be invisible, but their effects are undeniable… 💬

[fixquotes]

"Silence is better than unmeaning words"

- Pythagoras

[justbeingmel]

Meme My Words

Let's rewind to earlier last week. I found myself in a meeting discussing a flaw I discovered in an email template. The solution was rather simple and know that I had experience with similar issues when developing emails in the past. I raised the matter and discussed the possible solutions win a weekly team meeting. Queue creepy music as in this moment I have entered the corporate twilight zone. My colleague, lets call him Dwight, retorts that he does not see the same error on his device. I then demonstrate on his device where the error would appear. There is silence for but a moment as everyone in the room looks to verify if the issue exists.

I continue to discuss the solution to the issue, and I am awkwardly interrupted by Dwight who then throws on a cape and declares he has found the cause to the issue I addressed. Only this time he repeats my words reintroducing the issue, in octave lower than I had 4 minutes and 27 seconds ago. Oh I would also like to note Dwight has a mustache, and everything sounds more reassuring coming out of mouths with mustaches. It is at this moment my supervisor realizes there is an issue with the email templates. We will call my supervisor Pam.

Now there are a few times I find myself searching for the right words to say, but very rarely does that call for anyone to speak for me. Give me a moment to read the room, understand my audience and redirect the statement and typically any momentary lapse of word loss is recovered, at times more gracefully than others but nonetheless recovered. This was not one of those occasions. At no time have I ever needed anyone to interpret my words in an office as all the places I’ve been employed have primarily American English speakers. My oratory skills have been tested plenty over the years, but there is nothing like watching your weekly meeting become a living meme. 

It was all to apparent at this time that Pam really  only had started to take the matter into consideration once Dwight repeated my previous statement. This brought me to the realization that “mansplaining” is not an issue that is solely the rests with the men. Women in the workplace are just as responsible and in this case also part of the problem. Thankfully I was able to identify this paradox while it was in progress and recovered the room. I threw some bass in my voice and responded to this moment accordingly. I may not have a mustache but I do have a backbone and a bold presence. I reiterated the issue and got my supervisor’s full attention to put in a ticket so that the issue may be resolved. Resolved however was not a word Dwight was ready to hear.

Later in week on Friday afternoon I was working from home. Dwight drew up an email to the team working on the email bug. He went back his initial theory that the issue was simply and error on my device and nothing could be done. He had not been aware to the fact that this was a more universal issue that I had already tested. Fortunately for me and unfortunately for him, his email was poorly written and he pressed send before actually finishing the full thought. I responded in kind that the issue existed in other areas and should be aired out by the team regardless of device. I then dismissed him from the conversation and thanked the other ladies who were working on the issue.

A few hours later the development team contacted us with news that the bug had been addressed and we should no longer have those issues in the template. Dwight and his mustache were silent finally. Pam was surprised by the outcome but thanked me for the find. I doubt she realized her part in this scenario, so I’m sure it is bound to occur again. I will have to be sure to speak with the confidence and boldness to define that the words that I speak are words of purpose. 

As the only woman of color on my team, I know that I have a responsibility to myself to my peers not to allow my voice to be squashed. Marketing is one of the more visible areas in which people of color and women must to be sure to speak up in order ensure companies understand diversity. Its starts with the small talks in the weekly breakout meetings, otherwise issues and blindspots get overlooked. Don’t be afraid to throw a little bass in your voice if the moment calls for it. They will thank you later.

[jaysonlo]

Break time with my man Kris! He is the head and PR of Carmudi - a Platform for cars and vehicles. A pleasure to have him in our No Dull Moment seminar. #NoDullMoment #Presentation #SpeakEasy #Speaking #Training #Talk #Speaker #Inspiration Motivation #SpeakWithPurpose

[locksandpoeticdreams]

Proverbs 13:3 Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. #SpeakWithPurpose #God #Proverbs