Every time I find myself out and about, I see about 90% of people on their cell phones.
Friend me, follow me, invite me, connect with me, email me, text me, Google me.
How about let's talk? Communication and how people perceive communication is changing rapidly and seems to be evolving to text only. How do we navigate in a world so unknown, so ambiguous and seemingly not so personal? Our reliance on text only conversations seems to make actual conversation with real people feel like a challenge. Much of our communication is happening asynchronously and mainly online, and can lead to a degradation in ones' ability to hold a real, meaningful conversation on a whim, which means that YOU NEED TO GET OUT MORE OFTEN.
Here are some tips for communicating in any medium whether its virtual or face-to-face.
1) Be a human, not just a cardboard cutout. Networking is more than being present, be active! Show your human spirit.
2) Begin with the "give" and not the "get." Focus on what you can do for the person rather than what you can get from them.
3) Ask questions. Getting to know what's important to someone enables you to help them. It's also great to show interest in what the other person is saying because it gets them to open up and show their true colors.
4) Steer the conversation, but don't force anything. If someone keeps changing the subject on you, there is a reason behind it. Be respectful and follow their lead.
5) Be authentic. Pretty straightforward, don't try to be something you're not. You shine when you are your true self.
6) Take the online, offline. The best relationships are not just sustained through one dimension. Learn to have a duality in ways to communicate and don't hesitate to turn an email into a phone call, a comment into coffee, a LinkedIn invite into lunch.
7) Balance out the conversation, make sure there is a flow going where both of you are listening as well as talking. This happens to me a lot, where I am being polite and asking questions and I take the time to listen to a person but they never ask questions back. It's a HUGE turnoff when someone starts to spew out themselves like they're a walking CV or resume. If you care about the other person, show it. If you don't, at least pretend. Being polite is incredibly important.
Hopefully these tips help you! Just remember to always be considerate of other peoples feelings.
Sarah Alikhan
Social Instigator for...
Do what you love... and love will find you