Platitudes I Learned at Student Council Camp & Why They Still Matter

Way back in the day, Circa 1986, I went to Student Council Camp.

Art-Carved Class Rings sponsored the event.

We did a skit to EMF’s Unbelievable.

My hair was in a banana clip.

But it was there that I heard something that has stayed with me forever.

“Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.”

Thank you Leo Buscaglia.

Call it trite, but this applies to pretty much everything, right?

An interview. A coffee meeting. A difficult patient conversation. A potential client. A parenting crisis. A fundraising sponsor plea. A spousal conflict. A negotiation.

The next time you sit down to a Zoom call, do this:

• Take a moment to go from getting there to being there.

• Look them in the eye. Ask how their day is going.

• Start some small talk WITH MEANING. Forget weather and traffic, and go deeper.

• Get curious. Ask them something about life. Ask again. Get a name, an age, an event, a plan. If you’re not feeling authentic, fake it until you make it.

• Share something meaningful, but minimal, from your own life.

• Now you can get down to business.

The fact is, the more you find out about the cooking blog, pin-ball-machine collection, cycling obsession or 10-year old twins, the faster they’re going to trust you, like you, connect you or hire you.

Yes, this is something you should do MORE OF.

So don’t be looking around the room like I’m not talking to you.

Get your brave on and ASK PEOPLE about themselves. FIRST.

P.S. Half-way through the conversation...... it really is awkward, and too late.

That is all.

#youarebrave #brandmessaging #sales #smalltalk