READING TIME: 80 SECONDS
Connecting with other people brings infinite rewards. And whether it’s landing the job, winning the promotion, gaining the sale, charming a new partner, electrifying your audience or passing inspection by future in-laws, if people like you, the welcome mat is out and a connection is yours for the making. Other people are your greatest resource. They give birth to you; they feed you, dress you, provide you with money, make you laugh and cry; they comfort you, heal you, invest your money, service your car and bury you. We can’t live without them. We can’t even die without them.
Connecting is what our ancestors were doing thousands of years ago when they gathered around the fire to eat woolly mammoth steaks or stitch together the latest animal-hide fashions. It’s what we do when we hold quilting bees, golf tournaments, conferences and yard sales; it underlies our cultural rituals from the serious to the frivolous, from weddings and funerals to comic conventions and spaghetti-eating contests.
Even the most antisocial of artists and poets who spend long, cranky months painting in a studio or composing in a cubicle off their bedroom are usually hoping that through their creations they will eventually connect with the public. And connection lies at the very heart of those three pillars of our democratic civilization: government, religion and the internet.
Thousands of people impact all aspects of our lives, be it the weatherman at the TV studio in a neighboring city, or the technician at a phone company across the continent, or the woman in Tobago who picks the mangoes for your fruit salad. Every day, wittingly or unwittingly, we make a myriad of connections with people around the world.
Connect with someone new today – in person.
And while doing so TURN OFF your digital devices for awhile!!!
…and make eye contact with people. Thanks Frank.
Indeed! I am finding nearly nobody actually answers the phone any more in business. Connecting properly , in real life, on the phone or in person, with new potential clients is a nightmare. everyone is permanently online, but people aren’t communicating accurately.
When 55% of your communication comes from what we see (body language) and 38% from the tone of your voice (emotional state) all we are left with is the words (just 7%). So if someone texts or emails, “You drive me crazy,” you have no idea if the are angry with you or falling in love with you.
In your everday life, ssk a question. Or say anything and see if it starts a conversation.
Last Saturday before the deli was crowded, I was buying slice meat and cheese for company. The deli clerk offered to let me taste the roast beef. I declined, because I’m a vegetarian. She told me the story of her cousin’s vegan girlfriend, who was studying to be a nurse and they were sorry he didn’t marry her.
Simple. It may mean nothing, but a connection was made. She thanked me for talking. She wanted to be heard. It does mean something. The next time I go to that deli there will be someone I know.
Nice feeling isn’t it.
My Dad knew a gentleman who always had something positive to say about daily life, the weather, current events and family and friends and acquaintances and, most importantly, he always left you with a smile on your face. It all started with a simple “Hello!” I have tried to follow his example since childhood.
It’s just an olive branch of friendliness.
And connect with people in confined spaces like elevators, that’s a real
“elevator pitch!”