DOJO
Attending events, going to trade shows, meeting clients or heading out to a social event. We step out of our comfort zone when we meet new people. It can feel daunting especially when small talk appears difficult. It doesn’t have to be tough when you understand why it’s challenging (for most of us!) and how you can approach these conversations. You might just be surprised and find that your small talk can evolve into a deeper, more fulfilling conversation. Bring your sincere curiosity, your active listening and get ready to learn something new about your conversation partner.
This exercise is intended for individual or team sales agents as a way to practice and reinforce learnings. Incorporate this practice into your day and, if possible, into your ongoing sales work. This practice shouldn’t take you more than 10-15 minutes a day. Keep it simple. Good luck and have fun!
Introduction: You have a lot more common ground than you think with the people that you don’t yet know. At a workshop or trade show your starting point for a discussion can be the event itself. We always have the weather or current public events to draw upon as well to start a conversation with someone new. All we need is a little more practice and the courage to make a sincere connection.
Step 1: Take 5-10 minutes to talk with someone you don’t know very well. You could speak with a colleague, a more distant family member, a neighbour, the barista at your local café…
Step 2: Identify the one or two things you already know about this person. Ex, she works in the finance department, he recently got a new puppy, she often wears colorful earrings, etc.
Step 3: Use your fact to start a conversation. You can start by verifying that your fact is true, ie. “I heard that you work in the finance department - have you been there long?”; “Is it true that you got a labrador puppy last month - how is he doing?”, etc.
Step 4: From there, continue deepening the conversation to learn more about the person and their experience. Try to find nuggets of interest in the conversation that can lead you down further paths of conversation - this will usually be something like a common experience or value. Try to find at least 2 or 3 common nuggets of interest and dig deeper with at least one.
Step 5: If you’re concerned that the other person is surprised by your outburst of new conversation (especially if you have avoided interaction with them in the past) you can choose one of these explanations, just make sure that your answer, just like your interaction, is sincere. You can say: 1. You’re curious and have been wanting to get to know her better for a while already or 2. You’re practicing being more outgoing and meeting new people and one of your assignments is to make a new friend every day this week!
(Bonus) Step 6: If you learn something personal about the other person (such as the name of their child or pet, their job, their dream vacation) you can make a note of this in your phone. Simply add it as a note where you have them saved as a contact. You’ll be amazed how much your ‘new friend’ will appreciate it if, in several weeks or months, you ask her about her son (by name) or inquire into her holiday plans.
Goal for the week:
Tuesday: Practice “digging for nuggets” with 1 person today
Wednesday: Practice “digging for nuggets” with 1 new person today
Thursday: Practice “digging for nuggets” with 1 more different person today