You, You, You, You, You...I Wanna Talk About Me!!!

In yesterday's post, I discussed one of Dale Carnegie's basic people skill's from How to Win Friends & Influence People.  Today will continue this discussion on the concepts of this MUST HAVE book.

The country artist, Toby Keith, popularized today's topic in his Toby Keith, Greatest Hits 2 album with the song Wanna Talk About Me.

Essentially, the point he's singing about is that people don't want to hear about you, they want to tell you about themselves!

2 EARS & 1 MOUTH

I've heard it said that we've got 2 ears and 1 mouth for a reason.  We should all be listening 2x more than we talk!!  This skill is important in all of our day-to-day interaction with others as we are all aching to tell others about what's going on in our lives.

I remember a specific conversation I had many years ago with an acquaintance of my girlfriend (now wife).  We were both waiting at the airport for a flight and proceeded to talk for over 30 minutes while waiting to board our flight.  Aside from Susie finding out who I was, she talked and talked and talked about her kids, her relationship with my girlfriend, and her trip that she was beginning.  All I did was feed her questions and LISTEN.  Once our rows were called, we each went on our way, and to be honest I don't believe I ever ran into her again.  A couple of weeks later, I ran into another friend who mentioned how Susie had met me at the airport and that she could do nothing but go on and on about how neat a guy I was and what a great conversation we had!  The funny thing is that she never learned (or asked) a thing about me in that entire 30 minutes we talked.  All I did was listen and it left such an impression on her that I was complimented.

I challenge you to begin to apply this concept in your daily life and begin to see the results!

SOME USEFUL TIPS

1.  Take the time to not just listen, but get to know the people around you!  I've heard it said over and over again that business and life is all about relationships.  Business owners and sales people who become masters at listening are well on the way to loyal customers and long-term success!

2.  Give people your UNDIVIDED ATTENTION when talking to them.  Look people in the eyes and discipline yourself to ignore distractions like the cell phone while talking to people.  They need to become the most important people in the world to you while you're talking to them.

3.  GUYS, it's more important than anywhere else that you learn to LISTEN to your wife and kids!  While we don't need the conversation to "bond" like they do, so it's imperative that we fill the need that they have to talk.  A much happier and prosperous relationship will follow!! Stumble It!