April 8, 2013 Focus Point

Connect Effectively

 

In his work Everyone Communicates, Few Connect, John Maxwell teaches that it takes no effort or preparation to speak words; we all do that. But to connect with the other person, this takes energy and effort. To connect, we meet the other person where they are at and identify and relate to him or her.

 

Have you ever been with someone who was more interested in themselves and about if their hair was in order or if their clothes were just right than they were in being with you? Have you ever been in a meeting and you realize that the person who is speaking has disconnected with his or her audience? And maybe they did not even realize it? When we experience a disconnect on the phone, our knowledge of what has happened is immediate. But in most cases a disconnect is very subtle, if not gone unnoticed entirely, when we are working with people.

 

To truly connect with another person takes effort, preparation, thought, and energy. I believe it is worth whatever it takes. When we work with people it is not only what we say, but also how we say it, and most important, how we make the other person feel. People will forget what we say long before they ever forget how we made them feel. I believe that your success and my success in life is based on many things, but one of the most important is how effective we are able to connect with people.

 

This week let's you and I connect!

 

Other people are asking of us:

1. Do they care about me?

2. Can they help me?
3. Can I trust them?