Broadcasting Happiness

June 22, 2015
Gielan, a former CBS news anchor and founder of the Institute for Applied Positive Research, outlines how a positive outlook can lead to both personal fulfillment and business success. She shares useful communication tactics like the “power lead,” which starts off conversations on an upbeat note; asking the right kind of questions “to change the frequency to positive territory”; and the “four Cs” of effectively delivering bad news. As a former journalist, Gielan knows all about fact-checking and reworks the concept as a way of finding new facts to create a new story. On dealing with negative people in one’s life or workplace, Gielan offers the “retreat, regroup, and reenter” strategy. She also discusses the components of a viral story, useful for journalists and businesses seeking good press, such as an element of “high emotion” or an element that can be turned to practical purposes, or “operationalized.” There are a number of examples of positivity in action, such as a Washington State high school that boosted graduation rates by sharing “stories of success” with its students. While a number of books tout the boons of a positive attitude, Gielan’s take is unique for focusing on how we affect others depending on the story we’re “broadcasting.”