Two Communication Skills That Made the Biggest Difference

In the Clients Everywhere! Workshop today we talked about barriers that we unconsciously put between ourselves and people who could become customers. For me, the two that are most familiar are timidity and self-consciousness.

Timidity is something I've defaulted to for as long as I remember. I usually wait for others to speak before I feel comfortable saying anything and often if they don't start the conversation, there won't be a conversation. When I started to intentionally initiate conversations a lot of things changed for the better.

Being invited to talk to someone often has a meaning attached to me that they accept me and I belong - two human needs that have been central to my MO. What I found in starting to initiate conversations was that I no longer felt the need for acceptance and belonging as acutely as I had before. Acceptance and belonging can be had by initiating conversations. Strange, but true.

The second barrier - self-consciousness - showed up as me being in my head, wondering what the other person thought of me. The change that made the difference, in that case, was learning how to listen deeply. As I honed my listening skills, I noticed that I felt more present in the conversation and that I didn't worry about what they were thinking. They loved being listened to, and that translated into positive regard for me.

Consider the ways you might be putting barriers between you and your potential clients and see if there is another way of showing up that will have a better result. Stay tuned for more information about the next Clients Everywhere! Workshop coming up in September. The best way to stay informed is to sign up for my school. See the link in the menu? Click it!

#initiateconversations #listen #opportunity