At the end of every semester I teach I hold my breath when I read my evaluations, prepping myself for that one student that I didn’t reach who waited until then to unload their grievances. This summer semester was no different. There was the one.
But there were also all the other ones that I did reach and over the eleven years I have taught graduate students at NYU, I try to focus on that majority, that group that consistently tells me it is my joy and my passion for what I do that makes the difference for them. That, mixed with a healthy dose of relatable humor.
It’s the same thing that worked for me in my years in media sales and advertising when I was trying to convince someone that my radio or television station would help them grow their business. It’s the same thing that has worked for me when I am with a client and helping to build their brand. That joy and enthusiasm is what has worked for me as a professor when I am delivering a lecture and trying to sell how what I am teaching will help my students in their careers. That is what has worked for me in all my interactions and become part of my brand.
You see, while according to The NY Times, joy may not be a strategy, it is a very effective strategic tactic. Joy may not be the meat of the message you are delivering – whether it is a lecture on using social media to listen or the framework to craft an effective pitch – but it can be very effective in delivering that message.
When you are genuinely enthusiastic and passionate about what you do joy comes naturally and that joy not only has the potential to hold an audience’s attention it can be contagious.
Unless of course, you fall into the doom and gloom crowd that prefers to poke holes in anything that appears remotely positive, that wants to continue to circle the drain, fixated on everything that is wrong in the world (and there is a lot) instead of starting with acknowledging what is right about a given situation and then moving to what needs fixing.
The doom and gloom crowd is not skeptical. They are cynical. And there is a difference. One is looking for more information, the second has already made up their mind.
The doomsters see the joy and assume that joy means you are out of touch with reality and are looking at the world through rose-colored glasses. Joy – in their eyes – is not taking things seriously enough. Whatever enough is.
That is far from the truth – just don’t tell the media. It may have originated in the 19thCentury however “if it bleeds, it leads” continues to be their mantra in the 21st. Anything for a click.
The truth is – joy fuels your soul. It energizes. Doom and gloom depletes it. Most of us have experienced both. And when you have you know you get a lot more done when you are operating from a place of joy and enthusiasm than when you are raging. It may not be the whole strategic plan, but it is a great way to execute one.
This article was originally published on Does This Make Sense on Substack. Subscribe here for free.
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