On my way to Salt Lake City for a convention, I had a layover in San Francisco. Don’t ask me why United Airlines didn’t send me straight to Salt Lake City from Seattle (the way I’ve always gotten there), but at least it gave me extra time to meet people. The flight from Seattle to San Francisco was a very productive one. I met an incredibly nice person who also became a customer.

During the 2 hour flight, she did the majority of the talking. In between her pauses, I would only ask her more questions. She answered away, and then waited for my next one. She loved it! After the flight, she gave me a big hug, and even though she did all of the talking, told me that I was one of the nicest, most interesting people that she has ever met.

I could have just sat back, relaxed, listened to my personal development CD’s on my MP3 Player, but instead I sat there listening, using the SOFTNER Technique. Because I only spoke for about 10% of the time, and even that was just asking questions, she sensed that I had a sincere interest in her. Also, people very seldom have the opportunity to just talk about themselves, something everyone loves to do. I found out about her family life, her childhood, why she chose her line of work, you get the idea.

I was able to create a strong connection by just asking questions and listening to her using the SOFTNER Technique. The next time you find yourself in a similar situation, take a step back, and just ask questions. You may realize that you have very little patience and get easily bored around conversations that aren’t centered around you.

It has now been over a month since I first published 8 Points To A Great Voicemail Greeting. Point 5 was to change your greeting every month. This is just a reminder, have you changed your Voicemail Greeting lately?

I have began to call people who have indeed changed their voicemail greetings using the 8 points and the message that they are sending out is that they really welcome voicemails and communication. There are still other people that I call who have not changed their voicemails in all the years that I have known them. Their greeting is very uninviting, and I know that is not the message that they are trying to send out, yet they are not doing anything about it. Worst of all, there are many who still have the automated voicemail greetings.

After you have finished reading this, call your voicemail and ask yourself a few questions:

• Do I sound friendly and inviting?
• Is my greeting exciting and not boring?
• Does it have a hint of my personality in it?
• Does it sound personal and not like a generic greeting?

If you answered “no” to any of those questions, it’s time to change! To hear what my voicemail sounds like, feel free to give me a call at (360) 259-6232. Now please keep in mind that you are calling my cell phone… so I might actually pick up. If so, get ready for a wonderful conversation. Another thing to remember is that I am in the Pacific Time Zone. Either way, it would be great to hear from you!

You know how to introduce people right? Sure, you’ve been doing it for years now:

“Josh, this is Karla. Karla, this is Josh”

And once the introductions are made, the conversation sounds similar to this:

“Hi Karla, nice to meet you. Nice to meet you too Josh”

But then the conversation dies. It’s not Josh’s fault and it’s not Karla’s fault, the fault lies with the introduction. When you introduce two people, what you really want to do is build a relationship. For that to happen, you must give a foundation for the relationship to build on. Instead of just telling each other the names, why not give them some information about each other so that they can actually have a conversation. Here are 6 techniques that have proven effective for me:

1. Similar Interests: Chung, I know how much you love Germany. My friend Nickie actually just got back from Germany last week.
2. Their hobbies: Jessica, this is David. Like you, he has also been playing tennis for years.
3. Their talents: Frodo, I’d like you to meet Samwise. Sam is an incredible gardener.
4. An interesting fact: Robin, this is Ted. Did you know that Ted actually licked the Liberty Bell?
5. A professional relationship starter: Nam, this is Anthony who is the CIO of XYZ Corporation. Anthony, Nam is an IT Consultant who specializes in DBA.
6. Say something nice: Carie, I’d like you to meet Rhyan. Rhyan is by far one of the funniest people I know.

As you can see, introducing people can be fun and easy. Simply give the names, and then a little bit of information so that they can begin a conversation. Not only will the two people have a better conversation, but you will begin to have the reputation of being known as a people connector.