“Did I have this conversation with you?â€
That was one of the most common phrases of my flatmate during my university years in the UK. She would have conversations on anything with anyone and brainstorm about the latest things she discovered.
As a minimalist communicator I found that inspiring and I brought that lesson with me. FYI, I define a minimalist communicator someone (me) who usually keeps the conversation to the basics, doesn’t share much and possibly answer a vague “fine†to the question “How are you?â€
From a minimalist communicator to talking to everyone
Well, what my flatmate taught me is that sometimes people really are interested in how you are doing and it’s worth it to be honest about it. So, starting from the end of my university journey, I changed my answers.
“How are you?â€, people would ask.
“Great, I just came back from a trip in Belgium and it was energisingâ€, I would answer. Or maybe “Actually, I have this awful back painâ€â€¦
In the year I have improved this skill and took it to a new level and developed a method: T2E, that’s talk to everyone. (watch the video to learn more about this amazingly easy way to connect to people and share your offer)
But who’s everyone?
As a business owner, producer and freelance communication consultant, I have had to share my offer with countless of people, all the time. But what I found make it more interesting, is to share it with random people, aka everyone.
This means talking to the builders downstairs, the lady I sold my furniture to, the barman that sold me a cappuccino, the businessman waiting in the line with me. Literally everyone.
And it doesn’t have to be a forced nor a fake conversation (I’m really not the type). You simply need to share and be honest.
How, you would ask?
- Give yourself the time to give a mindful answer whenever someone asks you how you are doing
- Don’t overthink your response
- Stop your internal voice telling you they won’t care because they will
The results are amazing! By talking to everyone I:
- Got new job offers
- Received suggestions I would have never found by myself
- Found new clients or supporters
Now go exercise, talk to the first person you meet about what it is that you are doing, what new things excited you recently and what plans you have for the next days. Then post in the comment what happened.
And make sure to share with me, how do you make sure you have meaningful conversations?