Imagine you’re at a meetup, and you’re having a conversation about something that just happened in the news.
While making your point, you mispronounce a word… and someone interjects, “Well, actually, you’re supposed to say it like this…”
And there you are. You’re in the middle of a group of 5 people, and this person just corrected a word you said.
Sure, it has nothing to do with the point you’re making, but they went on to say, “Sorry about interrupting. Just wanted to make sure you knew the right way to say that word so you didn’t sound dumb.”
How would you feel?
On one hand, it’s nice to hear the RIGHT way to say a word. But really? Did it really need to happen in front of so many people?
Probably not, right?
And what about the guy who corrected you?
Sure, he’s not a bad guy. He isn’t thinking to himself, “Let me sabotage you right now in front of everyone.” But he did embarass you. And even if you can take it… because you’re an adult… you’ll likely never forget how he made you feel.
I know this is an egregious example, but as I look around, I see people making similar mistakes when they communicate with people.
Sometimes the mistakes are MUCH larger than other times…
…But the result is always the same: people want to be liked, they want to make a good first impression, and they want to put their best foot forward, but for whatever reason, when the time comes, they fail.
A while back, I used to chalk this up to “Well, that’s just the way they are. I can accept it, or I can move on.” But I believe being “good with people,” is a skill that can be learned. And I believe anyone – whether you’re already good with people or you’re struggling – can benefit from learning tools and techniques for becoming better with people.
As an example…
In this video, I revealed a simple strategy people can use to email influential people – and get responses (FAST).
http://ift.tt/Qb8MWy
In this video, I share a dumb mistake an entrepreneur makes at a conference (and what to do instead).
http://ift.tt/174GdVa
And in this video, I help people who want to build confidence be more confident.
http://ift.tt/11CwqDR
But my question to you is this:
What types of “mistakes” do you see people make when they interact with people?
Do they come off too strong?
Do they act too timid?
Do they tell bad stories?
(Oh, I know a few who do that, and it drives me nuts).
What types of things do you see out in the world?
Leave a comment below.
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