Admit it; everyone runs their mouth now and then and we might find ourselves cursing unintentionally. It’s fine at home because, usually, no one hears us and we can scream profanity at the top of our lungs and not experience any side effects. In fact, it could be a great way to relieve some pent up stress, but in the world of business, you better keep that behaviour behind closed doors.
It’s incredibly important to watch what you say when you’re in the workplace. If you ask any communications expert, they’re going to tell you that no matter the situation, you have to present yourself in a formal and calm manner if you want to maintain a good reputation. Even if you use a couple of slang words or uncommon lingo, it could negatively affect your chances of making a sale or bringing on an important investor.
If you think you’re prone to unleashing a barrage of profanity or sticking to your usual slang words instead of using professional terms, then here are a couple of tips on how to remain professional throughout your business career.
Improve your self-awareness
Not everyone realises when they are frustrated. It helps if you have close friends or family members that are willing to call you out when you’re being unreasonable but it can be difficult keeping your emotions in check and realising that you’re just being angry and you need to calm down. When we’re frustrated, it’s easy to say things we don’t mean or exaggerate situations in order to provoke ourselves, but it’s critical to learn the signs that tell you you’re overreacting.
If you want to manage your emotions, you have to breathe slowly and deliberately so that you can take your mind off of other things. Try to delay your reaction to give yourself enough time to realise that you’re currently in a volatile emotional state and replace your negative thoughts with professional ones. For instance, if a customer on the other end of the phone is being rude or aggressive to you, then you have to take that verbal abuse and be the better person. Calmly tell them to stop or put down the phone—don’t engage in a swearing content.
Understand the importance of reputation
A lot of people simply don’t care about their reputation or they don’t understand the effects it has on their business. In order to understand why reputation is important, you have to learn about the effects of a negative reputation and why you have to stay away from it. First of all, news travels fast. If you verbally abuse a client or customer or if one of your staff members poorly represents your interests, then that is going to be posted on social media and before you know it, you’re going to have people boycotting your business or your products. If you have a low star rating on a business directory, then you’re going to get far less business than a company with four of five stars even if they are inferior businesses—and that’s all because of your reputation.
But those are the negative effects of reputation—what about the positive? As mentioned before, a high-star rating is going to give you preferential treatment on various websites and by customers. Good deeds by a business don’t go unrewarded either. Some companies are known for their impeccable customer service and, as a result, stories are shared and more people buy from that company to support their deeds. If you want to be a successful business, then you need to have a great reputation and remaining a professional outlook will carry you a long way.
An alternate strategy: embracing stress
Let’s face it, getting angry over something isn’t the right way to deal with it. The correct method that entrepreneurs use to get over a bad situation is to get to work. Imagine if something bad happened in your business, do you simply just sit there and whine about it, or are you going to put your head down and start working to remedy the issue?
You can use stress to your advantage because it kicks your mind into overdrive if you learn to utilise it. Many successful entrepreneurs use stress to make themselves work harder and to keep their minds focused—and you can do it too. One of the signs of a fantastic boss is their ability to rally their workers and turn their stress or worries into productivity. Don’t let bad situations or stress drag you and your company down. Learn to revel in stress and use it to your advantage.
