Page 198 - Paulisms: Gold Nuggets for Small Business

Dealing with Venu, I learnt the word ‘kindly’. In all his correspondence he would always say ‘Could you kindly...?’ It seemed so polite and powerful! That really set the tone for all my future communications, whether they be by fax, verbally or later by email. ‘Kindly’ softens the whole tone of the communication and is so often such a powerful way of gently influencing people and ensuring things get done. We all know that there are numerous issues with people misinterpreting the tone in others’ emails, but with this one sentence of ‘Can you kindly...?’ it really sets the tone, and, again, is a great way of ensuring you get things done.
I learnt so much from that gentleman, Venu Gopaul. Reflecting on this chapter: if I hadn’t had my radio tuned in to that New Plymouth radio station in 1985, perhaps I will not have achieved what I did.
Once again, thank you to my dear friend Venu (passed August 2016).