Hey, everybody, how are you? Charlie Hauck, Growth Dynamics lead trainer and president, here for another one of our famous Fast Tip Fridays. There's been a lot going on in my life lately, a lot in the business, a lot of really good stuff happening personally as well. At times I get a gift, an unexpected gift, in an email or a text exchange with someone from my business relationships or my personal relationships. Yesterday was one of those examples when I was in a brief exchange with a new client, new business relationship, and we've gotten along very well.
The relationship started pretty strongly, and we just get each other. We're in sync about what it takes to make it through this world with the least amount of stress and aggravation. I found the opportunity in the conversation to thank this person for their generosity, their authenticity, their courtesy, their general courtesy in the way we've communicated and the thoughtfulness and the patience to listen and to talk to each other, and it was a pretty genuine exchange. At the end, I shared thanks with this person, and she in turn wrote back, I'm just doing what we should do. She also said, "it's really what we should do as friends", which I thought was a really nice sentiment.
More times than not, it's better to listen than to be heard. I want to thank her for taking the time to always be a good listener when we talk and to always allow me to say what I need to say. I also want to express that I hope I'm doing the same for her, that being a good conversationalist in our relationship is not about how much I can talk to her, but it's more about how much I can listen to her. So whatever you're doing, if it involves people, change your mind about how to be a great communicator.
The thing we all need to learn, to be great communicators, is not how to speak better. It's not to be more eloquent. It's not to be more verbose. It's to be more patient, more quiet, and to be more willing to listen to the other person. So as we think about doing what we have to do day in and day out, week after week out, we're talking to people, we're doing business. Maybe you're in the sales business, maybe you're leading teams, leading companies. I'll implore you again, slow yourself down. Turn the mouth off, turn the ears on, and just commit that you'll live your life with the belief it's better to be a listener than to be heard. Just a little personal touch there. Thanks for letting me share.
