Building Rapport

Saleshq.com provides a simple list of suggestions for building rapport and connecting with others at networking events.  I’m not certain the list is all that remarkable, but I was struck by a couple of tips: 5. Show interest in your conversational partner by actively listening and giving verbal feedback. Maintain eye contact. Never glance around the room while they are talking to you. 6. Listen more than you talk. Clearly you have to talk to build rapport, but the actual bonding occurs when your mouth is closed.  I especially enjoyed the suggestion to “never” look around the room when someone is speaking to you.  I have a friend who does… Read More

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Wide-Angle Thinking

I just caught up to this quote in a good quote from Peter Drucker in BusinessWeek.com’s Wide-Angle Thinking: Surely, Drucker would have applauded. “Too many think they are wonderful because they talk well,” he once pointed out. “They don’t realize that being wonderful with people means listening well.” Here is another aspect we subscribe to in our sourcing activities: Handy goes even further, advising that companies should roam far beyond their traditional bounds to better understand not just technology but myriad practices and processes. Say, for instance, a manufacturer needs to tap a team of top talent for a project that will be disbanded after a relatively brief period. Handy’s… Read More

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