This made me laugh last week. A lot.

We’ve all been there, haven’t we?!

That sense of jubilation when we’ve defeated our foe.

You WILL sit through all 98 of my slides.

You WILL respond to my passive aggressive follow up email ‘Ccing in your manager for clarification purposes’.

You WILL let me have the last word in the meeting.

<cue Hollywood voiceover>

‘Two communicators.  One heated exchange.  Tempers at boiling point. There can only be one winner.  Who will be the last one standing?’

Of course it’s all too easy to approach our communication as a battle – especially, let’s face it, with those people who drive us nuts just by breathing.

But here’s the thing: a win for our audience is a win for us too.

If we give people the benefit of the doubt, they’ll do the same for us.

If we’re clear and concise, we get a faster response.

If we’re friendly and polite, we’re more likely to get a nicer reply.

If we’re more interesting, people will be more interested.

The voiceover would be less exciting.  But the outcome a lot more peaceful, because everyone’s a winner.