Skip to main content

“Connecting with people one-on-one is more important than being able to do it in a group or with an audience.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell from his book, Everyone Communicates, Few Connect. (p.20). HarpersCollins Leadership Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

It is so important.

John says, “Why? Because 80 to 90 percent of all connecting occurs on this level, and this is where you connect with the people who are most important to you.

“How good are you at connecting with friends, family, colleagues, and coworkers? To increase your influence one-on-one:

• Talk more about the other person and less about yourself. Prepare two or three questions you can ask someone before a meeting or social gathering.
• Bring something of value, such as a helpful quote, story, book, or CD, to give to someone when you get together.
• At the close of a conversation, ask if there is anything you can do to help them and then follow through. Acts of servanthood have a resounding impact that live longer than words.”

Now connecting in a group is also important.

John says, “To connect with a group, you must take initiative with the people in the group. To do that, do the following:

• Look for ways to compliment people in the group for their ideas and actions.
• Look for ways to add value to people in the group and what they’re doing.
• Don’t take credit when the group succeeds, and don’t cast blame when it fails.
• Find ways to help the group celebrate successes together.”

And then some thoughts on connecting with an audience.

John also says, “One of the best ways to learn how to connect with an audience is to observe communicators who are good at it. Learn from them and adopt what you can into your own style. Meanwhile, here are four things you can do to connect with an audience:

• Let your listeners know that you are excited to be with them.
• Communicate that you desire to add value to them.
• Let them know how they or their organization add value to you. Tell them that your time with them is your highest priority that day.”

Such good practical advice.  See, we can learn how to connect but will we? 

Yes, yes!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...
Post a Comment
Read more

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle?   Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...
Post a Comment
Read more

"To put it simply, worry isn’t just a bad habit."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 1). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Ok, that is interesting. Louie says, "Worry is an Enemy tactic—a strategy built on lies that are designed to rob you of peace and tear your mind to pieces. "That’s why it’s crucial that you are able to spot the lies worry tells." He goes on, "Not long ago while on safari in South Africa, Shelley and I were really wanting to see a leopard in the wild. Early and late on our game drives our eyes were set on every tree limb, bush, grassy hill, and river path in hopes of finding one of several leopards that were known to frequent this particular area. But here’s the thing: leopards aren’t bright orange with tall, sparkly antennae on their backs. They are designed to blend into the surroundings, like the bark of a baobab tree where they might be lounging on one of its mighty branches. "In the same way, ...
Post a Comment
Read more