Smart Talk eps 1: Introduce Yourself

Notice: This post is under label "mimpi" because it relates so much with my personal mission statement aka goals of life.

#nowlistening Frau - Arah

I am currently taking a business communication class and reading Smart Talk by Lisa B. Marshall.

It feels good.

First, I have to tell you that I am proud of my people skills. I even write it on the About Me part in this blog (you can see it in the right column, sorry for being narcissistic :)) ). Then I met this class and this book. Someone knocked at my door. Said that I am no good in professional communication.

Okay lets move on. Take the pride back.

#1 Taking the "Hell" Out of Hello

How many times did you have to introduce yourself last month? Not a chance? Once? A dozen of times? For me it's like seven to ten within two weeks. I am currently applying for this and that, so that would add a couple of "Hi, I'm Yusrina blablabla", both via email and in-person.

I'll write you the five steps to effective introductions from the book:

1. Make it relevant to your audience.

When I introduced myself in the placement test interview, I didn't say "Hi, I'm Yusrina. I love running and swimming." That was irrelevant to the interviewer because what she was interested about was not my hobby. Obviously. So here is what I should have had said: "Hi, I'm Yusrina. I am taking this class because I am preparing for an interview next month".

2. Shake hands, well you know it

3. Say the other person's name while shaking, you know this too

4. Build rapport by finding common ground

The initial connection hopefully lead to conversation. The powerful question that I used a lot in speed networking role play in the class last week was "Well, I'll hear from you first. So, what do you do?". That way, I could adjust my response to describe what I do, made it more relevant and interesting for the other person. And this book says the same thing. Wow.

The direction of the conversation can be decided from here, the common ground. "Oh, you're a travel agent? I love travelling". My role was an event organizer that loves extreme sport and travelling, so I brought up the travelling thing. Forgot to mention, that was my line from last week. Yes, I used echo question a lot. It shows interest. Don't you think so?

5. Communicate confident, yes of course

The steps ends here.

Talking about small talk, I want to quote the book:

"My coach said to me, 'Lisa, you don't ask someone to marry you on the first date! You need to warm-up first.' That made sense! Before I can ask someone important questions, I first needed the person to respond favorably to me, to like me, and perhaps most important, to trust me. It was like a huge lightbulb went off in my head -introductions, small talk, and initial conversations are just a first step toward genuine communication."

There. I want to talk about the underlined words later. Please remind me.

#nowlistening Tulus - Lagu Untuk Matahari

Cheer up hey you, Sunshine!

Btw saya mulai lari lagi plus sekarang dengerin Tulus jadi ingat post ini. Satu Hari di Bulan Januari. Ahiw

See you next episode