The Proper FORM.

In my last post, I talked about how people I met during a 1-2-1, mentally chased me away because of their “commission breath”. In today’s post, I am going to give you a tip on how to have a conversation with someone, especially an introvert, that will not make them run to the nearest exit. Because they didn't have the PROPER FORM.

If you Google, "proper form" you will see hundreds of thousands of different results on various topics. For example, showing football players on how to tackle someone without injuring themselves. In baseball, infielders are coached how to quickly field a ground ball and throw the advancing base runners. In school, children are taught how to properly hold a pencil to write. Personally, as a water-skier, my dad coached me on how to have the proper form while skiing a slalom course. Most of those search results are beneficial because they are typically geared to show people how to prevent injury, or to show a technique to master a skill. When you master the technique, doing those things becomes second nature. The “Conversational FORM“ to this day is one of the most beneficial for me and the impact that it has had on me.

Family | Occupation | Recreation | Miscellaneous

You don’t necessarily have to have the FORM conversation in this exact order. But, what is important, it has to be genuine. When the meeting is over, you will know more about that person and you are on your way to earning their trust. As I have stated in my previous articles, networking, and referral driven business is built on connections and trust. During every meeting, I write on my note pad, next to the person's name, FORM. This is to remind me that it's not about me but the person on the other side of the table.

I read recently that in order to control a conversation that a person needs to ask themselves "How can you make a person feel important upon meeting them for the first time?" Most of the time when people are having a meeting they think that in order to control a conversation, they need to spew information about their goods/services and continue talking. This is commission breath. I love the LinkedIn app on my phone because it will alert me before every meeting and say "Get to know Danny L. Smith before your meeting". In my "Stop Wasting Handshakes Program" the connecting on social media step is purposely ahead of the 1-on-1 step because I want to learn about that person before we meet.

I recently got into a debate on Facebook regarding business cards and networking.  In the next article, we will discuss business cards, handshakes, and what to do with them and how to not waste them.

I will leave you with this, God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason. Listen and take a commission altoid.

Until next time… Happy Connecting!