The Energy of Words: 8 Ways You Can Re-energize Your Team

No matter how positive your company culture is, your team members will likely experience diminished energy at some point. Ideally, you provide them with resources to help prevent burnout, but what else can you do?

To keep staff feeling engaged and energized, you can modify the language you use. By framing your communication in a positive and motivational way, you can help bolster your staff’s spirits.

As Rudyard Kipling wrote, “Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.” By selecting energetic words, you can have a positive impact on your team’s enthusiasm levels.

How Can You Energize Your Team?

It’s important to address any organizational barriers your staff encounters as they try to keep their energy levels high. Do you allow your staff to take enough breaks? Do you provide time and space for them to socialize? Do you provide them with caring feedback?

There are so many reasons that a staff member would start to feel burned out, but the scope of this article focuses on words.

So, how can you use language to energize your team? Does it even work?

Read on to learn more about how the words you choose make a difference.

Do Energetic Words Really Motivate a Team?

Energetic words really can motivate a team. Besides helping with motivation, using energetic language can help build the foundation for an overall positive experience for everyone involved.

If you’ve been struggling to establish a positive, energetic and winning attitude for your sales team, then it might be time for some help.

That’s where we come in. If you need help strategizing ways to improve your sales methods or marketing strategies, we can help. Contact us today to get started!

8 Ways To Energize Your Team and Be Productive

A team’s culture starts at the top. Managers set the tone for their staff to be energized and productive. If your management is looking for ways to further boost employee morale and increase efficiency, then here are eight ways to get you started.

If you approach your team members with empowered and positive energy, then they’ll respond in a positive way back. If it doesn’t happen immediately, give it some time. If the mood of a team is already negative, then it will take time to turn around.

Don’t worry, though. You’ll get there with consistency!

Know Each of Your Team Members Personality

You can’t choose the words that will have the best impact on your audience if you don’t know the audience first. Depending on differences in personality, your team members will be energized by different approaches you take to communicate.

You also can choose which team members you want to focus your time and attention on based on how they’re acting. If you know them well enough, it will be easier to identify signs of stress or negative attitude early. And the sooner you can address an issue, the easier it is to solve.

Imagine the impact it would have on a team member if you could see that they weren’t feeling energized and asked, “Hey, I noticed you seem a bit low on energy. Have you been feeling alright? What can I do to support you?”

No matter what type of open door policy you might have as a leader, it’s important to remember that some of your team members will simply not feel comfortable coming to you early with a problem. If people are hesitant to approach you, it can allow negative feelings to fester before you address them with positive, energetic language that motivates.

Individual people require unique approaches. You can use malleable methods of communication that can flex to meet the needs of any individual. Then you can most effectively bring out the best in them.

Learn from Your Team

As you get to know your team members and their personalities, you’ll be able to more effectively lead them. And in this case, that means keeping their spirits elevated.

By connecting with your team, you can eventually start asking them for their expertise. This can have a profound effect on their level of buy-in or optimism. When people offer their advice or insight, they’re attaching a level of personal interest to the situation that makes them feel connected.

The more you ask your team questions, the more you learn from them and about them. They’ll feel like experts when they can explain something to their boss, and you’ll definitely learn from them, too. It’s a win-win, really.

Express Gratitude

In a fast paced work environment, it can be easy to just say, “Got it,” or, “Yeah, I saw your proposal.”

It can be hard to remember to express genuine gratitude before moving on to the next task on your to-do list. But your staff will notice, appreciate and remember when you say, “Thank you.”

And it’s not enough to just say, “Thanks.” Express thanks for something specific, and use the most positive words you can think of. Even before you review something, you can simply thank the person for completing the task and let them know that kind and candid feedback will follow.

That brings us to our next point.

Give Kind But Candid Feedback

It’s important for employees to know how they’re doing. If they don’t get feedback, then they’ll just wonder if they’re performing their duties to the highest standard.

When you give kind but candid feedback, your staff will appreciate the honesty and grow from the advice. It’s essential to be kind while being honest, though, as the message gets lost when people feel attacked or get defensive.

Start by noting what went well, and then note what could be improved.

Avoid negatively framing your feedback. For example, here are three things not to say:

“The price estimate you calculated wasn’t even close.”

“Your conclusion slide for that presentation was terrible. Sloppy work.”

“We can’t even use this. I have no idea what you were thinking.”

Here are positive alternatives:

“How did you come up with this price estimate? My number is different, and I’d like us to be confident about our final proposal figure.”

“Please remove redundant information in the conclusion slide. After that revision, this will be a strong presentation.”

“This draft is not aligned with our needs for this project. Let’s go back to the beginning to make sure we’re on the same page.”

The second set would allow your staff to come to the conversation with an open mind and feeling much more energized to tackle the project.

Encourage Empathy in the Workplace

It’s essential for all employees to empathize with each other. It’s not just management that needs to empathize with staff.

When teammates help each other and offer support among themselves, it has a huge impact on the attitude of the team as a whole.

If you regularly remind everyone on your team that they should feel free to offer one another help and support, they likely will do so. When everyone helps everyone, it creates a feeling of mutual respect that will endure.

Plan a Regular Dialogue for Each Team Member

If you take the time for regular conversation with each team member, you’ll be setting your team up to succeed. By checking in, especially one-on-one, you’ll be able to identify who on your team is in need of some morale boost. You can respond accordingly.

By addressing your staff’s concerns, you’ll be building your relationship with them. And when you have a strong relationship with your team, they’ll take your words to heart more.

Aim for weekly, or at least monthly, check-ins with your team. One-on-one is ideal in case anyone has any sensitive information to share. Make it clear that you’re looking for honesty so that you can help them solve any problems they’re experiencing. That’ll be sure to boost the team’s energy!

Be Open and Ask for their Feedback

You can share your thoughts with them, too. By having a two way interaction, you’ll be able to relate to them better. And once you’ve shared your thoughts, they’ll be more likely to respond.

Once you’re open, you can get open feedback from your team. With honest information, you can design strategies to address any issues that might have come up. Employees feel much better working for someone who takes the time to show they care by solving problems thoughtfully.

Share Success Stories with Them

This is perhaps one of the most impactful strategies to energize a team: share success stories!

If you have group meetings, a group chat or email chain, then recognize people’s successes. This is best done in person and in a group, though.

When you have someone on your team excel, it’s going to be a huge, positive boost to talk about it.

Tell everyone how great that person did! It will show your team that their successes will be recognized.

If you’re still not sure how you can energize your team to increase productivity, then look no further.

Wizards of Ads is here to guide you through sales and marketing strategies for success. Contact us today to get started!