[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]There was once an editor, a woman whom I’d never met, working on some material of mine. For every edit she’d made or suggested, this woman — let’s call her Ruth — left a comment explaining what she’d done or suggested be done and why.

Though Ruth was present in the project only to help make it better, her edits and suggestions added to my workload: Edits mean change and more effort. If you’ve ever created anything, you know how taxing the editing process can be. And you know that the editing process is where the majority of the work happens; it’s not the creating itself that takes long. Creating is the easy part; editing is the work. I was able to put so many basketball videos on YouTube back in the day because of the fact that I recorded in a way that would require very little editing; turnaround time was quick.

Back to Ruth. Though I didn’t know her from anywhere and she was extending my work time, I found myself liking her more and more as the editing process wore on. There was only one reason, and a small reason at that: Every comment Ruth made started with one word.

Dre.

For Your Game
The sweetest word to the ears of any person is their own name. It’s the most valuable thing (maybe the only thing) anyone truly owns. People listen more closely and are more open to what they hear when their name is involved. Using a person’s name as much as possible — in conversation, editing suggestions, anywhere else that you can sprinkle it in — unconsciously endears you to others.