You Know WHO and What You Stand For – But HOW?
After 20 years of advocating for my clients, I’ve become very clear on who and what I stand for. You have to be clear on the same before you can become a strong advocate. Hopefully, you’ve decided you are ready to advocate for yourself, your family, and your business, so the WHO is clear. And if you’ve written your personal mission statement, the WHAT is clear as well. Now we’re ready for the fun stuff–the HOW.
The HOW of advocacy begins with evidence. Evidence is the foundation of every case I’ve ever won. Just like I can’t win a case without evidence, you can’t win a battle with your alarm clock, a donut, your spouse or your boss without evidence either. We need to know what we’re working with in order to win.
The interesting thing about trials is both sides start with the same evidence. As I stand before the jury to give my opening, I have access to the exact same evidence as my opposing counsel. One of the tenets of fairness is that we start with the same facts. It is what we do with that evidence that determines who wins and who loses. You’ve got to play with the evidence, but before we get to play we have to know.
Today, we start with the HOW of advocacy and the first step in HOW is to gather your evidence. Get all of the information that you can. Learn all there is to know about your tendency to snooze, your sugar cravings, your spouse or your boss. Knowledge is power, and evidence is the basis of knowledge. So gather your evidence, and then play with it. Next week we’ll get into the specifics of that play. Start with the facts. Gather your evidence and know yourself, your argument, and your goals. Next week we play…..
If you want a my free 10 Steps to Be Your Own Best Advocate checklist, let me know in the comments and we’ll send one your way!
Subscribe to Heather’s newsletter, connect with her on social media or purchase one of her books.
