I could easily have titled this business tip "cultivate the lost art of conversation". Too often when people speak to one another, all they're doing is exchanging information. Worse, they're often doing it as brusquely as possible, feeling pressed for time.
But simply exchanging information is not going to impress contacts or win you repeat customers.
You need to make a conscious effort to converse with those you meet. A conversation is more than an information exchange; to converse, you have to show an interest in the other person, give him or her your full attention and actually listen to his or her replies.
So when you meet a new contact, or get the opportunity to talk to a customer, start a conversation. The safest way to start a conversation is to ask a person what he or she thinks of something (making it impossible to just answer "yes" or "no"). Or ask someone what he does. Then as the conversation develops, you can ask an occasional leading question to discover what interests him or her.
The art of conversation lies in keeping the conversation flowing without talking much. The greatest conversationalists are listeners, not talkers; they look interested, they listen, they respond to the other person, replying and questioning - but they talk 50 percent of the time or less.
If you practice the art of conversation, your conversation will focus on the customer or contact, not on you. People love to talk about themselves - if someone is listening to them.
And people who feel that they've been listened to and treated well are people who have a much higher likelihood of taking the time to find out about you and the products or services you offer - and becoming repeat customers or clients.
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