CONNECTING
CONNECTING
The quality of your life improves when you are good at connecting with people. If you are not successful at doing it, is it something you can learn? Yes, you can learn to connect with people in about 90 seconds or less. It is a skill, and that can be taught to everybody.
We cannot exist without getting together with other people. Your pipes might need a plumber, the roof may be leaking, or you need to buy a new computer. Whatever we are doing, we are connecting with people in business as well as in private life.
Nothing can replace the physical contact with another person. If a couple has been married for many years and one of them dies, the other person often dies shortly after. The Internet is excellent for many purposes but it is not a good alternative for the experience of spending time face-to-face with another human being.
If people connect with you, they feel comfortable around you. They will open up to you and give you their attention. When you want to connect with another person, Nicholas Boothman points out in his book “how to make people like you”, that there are three things to consider when you want to capture attention:
- Your presence (what you look like and how you move).
- Your attitude.
- How you make people feel.
When you meet other people, show them you have a positive attitude and avoid covering your heart with your arms. That way you come across as being open and welcoming. Let your eyes signal that you have the positive attitude and look the person directly in the eye. How do you feel when people give you eye contact? And if they don’t? An easy way of making sure you give eye contact is to focus on the colour of the other person’s eye.
Add a smile to your greeting. Remember, the shortest road between two people is a smile. Boothman recommends an exercise so you have your smile ready when needed. You position your face ten inches in front of a mirror, look yourself in the eye and say the word “great” in many different ways (angry, soft, sexy, loud, etc). Repeat this exercise once a day for three days. When you meet a person, you just say “great” under your breath and you just smile.
I am wondering how much you will enjoy connecting with people, when you look them in the eye and smile! The eyes are the window to the soul. They also tell if we are paying attention to the person in front of us.
To make a fantastic first impression, take care of how you are dressed, be aware of having a positive attitude, repeat the word “great” inside yourself to make you smile, walk up to the person and notice the colour of the person’s eyes, point your heart to the person and ask questions to show you are interested in that person. Start testing it now and enjoy the connection.
