WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.140 Please do me a favor. Share your first name, 00:00:02.180 --> 00:00:05.040 last name, the name of your company and all the 00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:07.759 things that you do. Well, good morning. Good 00:00:07.759 --> 00:00:10.460 to be back. I've had a great time last time. 00:00:10.699 --> 00:00:13.960 I'm Patrick Donatio. I'm a communication strategist, 00:00:13.980 --> 00:00:17.519 executive coach and educator. And I'm also the 00:00:17.519 --> 00:00:18.980 author of the book, Communicating with Impact. 00:00:19.079 --> 00:00:21.780 So I work with people who want to improve the 00:00:21.780 --> 00:00:23.600 way they communicate to build deeper relationships, 00:00:23.859 --> 00:00:26.980 enhance their. connections with others, increase 00:00:26.980 --> 00:00:29.460 their revenues, and most importantly, get greater 00:00:29.460 --> 00:00:31.960 results. So when I've been doing this for a couple 00:00:31.960 --> 00:00:36.539 of years, but I really, really enjoy helping 00:00:36.539 --> 00:00:39.340 people learn how to be a better communicator, 00:00:39.380 --> 00:00:41.439 which as you probably know, you know, we spend 00:00:41.439 --> 00:00:43.500 about 80 % of our waking day in some form of 00:00:43.500 --> 00:00:45.700 communication. So it's a skill that we're using 00:00:45.700 --> 00:00:49.420 all the time. Tell me that, you know, the difference 00:00:49.420 --> 00:00:51.840 since this is more of your expertise, what's 00:00:51.840 --> 00:00:54.880 the difference? Well, anybody can talk when not 00:00:54.880 --> 00:00:57.060 everybody can communicate with impact. Right. 00:00:57.140 --> 00:01:00.079 So to be an effective communicator, really, I 00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:03.780 think it takes some important skill sets. And 00:01:03.780 --> 00:01:06.239 I've created this impact process that I think 00:01:06.239 --> 00:01:08.700 encompasses really what I think are the six keys 00:01:08.700 --> 00:01:10.540 to really be a great communicator. So if you 00:01:10.540 --> 00:01:13.030 don't mind, I just take like 30 seconds. And 00:01:13.030 --> 00:01:14.950 I'll just tell you what the six keys are. And 00:01:14.950 --> 00:01:16.670 then, you know, we can go and talk about any 00:01:16.670 --> 00:01:18.390 of the ones you want that may be most relevant 00:01:18.390 --> 00:01:21.310 to our viewers or listeners today. And I know 00:01:21.310 --> 00:01:23.709 a lot of folks are entrepreneurs. And so as an 00:01:23.709 --> 00:01:25.730 entrepreneur, you're always communicating. So 00:01:25.730 --> 00:01:27.629 here are the six components that I think make 00:01:27.629 --> 00:01:30.209 somebody an effective communicator. And I made 00:01:30.209 --> 00:01:31.769 it really easy, by the way, if you know the word 00:01:31.769 --> 00:01:33.829 impact, it's an acronym. So you'll remember the 00:01:33.829 --> 00:01:36.750 six keys, the eyes for the intention, right? 00:01:36.890 --> 00:01:39.430 Think before you speak. Every good communicator. 00:01:39.790 --> 00:01:42.430 starts with a clear intention. The M is for the 00:01:42.430 --> 00:01:44.769 message and the method. So great communicators 00:01:44.769 --> 00:01:46.670 understand that, you know, you got to pick the 00:01:46.670 --> 00:01:49.030 right method to communicate because sometimes 00:01:49.030 --> 00:01:51.430 a certain method may not be effective given the 00:01:51.430 --> 00:01:53.609 intention. And then once you know the intention, 00:01:53.790 --> 00:01:56.170 right, what do you want to say to help you achieve 00:01:56.170 --> 00:01:58.269 the intention? It all goes back to the intention. 00:01:58.769 --> 00:02:01.609 The P is the person. So even if you've got a 00:02:01.609 --> 00:02:03.049 great intention, you've got a great message, 00:02:03.069 --> 00:02:04.890 you picked the right method. You still got to 00:02:04.890 --> 00:02:06.629 think about the person you're communicating with 00:02:06.629 --> 00:02:09.270 because we're all different. And how do you adjust 00:02:09.270 --> 00:02:11.729 or adapt your communication to the other person, 00:02:11.810 --> 00:02:14.430 given their experience, their education, their 00:02:14.430 --> 00:02:17.430 personality style? That's the IMP part. I call 00:02:17.430 --> 00:02:20.050 IMP planning, right? The IMP of the process. 00:02:20.189 --> 00:02:23.129 The ACT is how do you activate the message? So 00:02:23.129 --> 00:02:26.409 A is activate. And we talk about the two critical 00:02:26.409 --> 00:02:28.710 components that great communities need, which 00:02:28.710 --> 00:02:31.650 is to be an active listener and to create active 00:02:31.650 --> 00:02:35.180 engagement. The C is clarify. How do you make 00:02:35.180 --> 00:02:37.020 sure the message you sent is the same message? 00:02:37.319 --> 00:02:39.699 Effective communicators know that it doesn't 00:02:39.699 --> 00:02:42.460 matter what I say. It's what people hear that's 00:02:42.460 --> 00:02:44.240 most important. And how do I make sure we're 00:02:44.240 --> 00:02:46.560 both on the same page? And then the T in the 00:02:46.560 --> 00:02:49.439 process is transform. And I talk about two types 00:02:49.439 --> 00:02:51.840 of transformations, internal transformations 00:02:51.840 --> 00:02:54.340 and external transformations. So if you've done 00:02:54.340 --> 00:02:56.400 everything else, but you don't think about how 00:02:56.400 --> 00:02:58.919 do you transform your words and your actions 00:02:58.919 --> 00:03:01.240 into the results or intention you wanted to get. 00:03:01.530 --> 00:03:02.830 you're not going to be a great communicator. 00:03:02.870 --> 00:03:05.210 So there it is. I mean, there's six simple tools, 00:03:05.370 --> 00:03:08.689 six key ingredients that I think really make 00:03:08.689 --> 00:03:10.569 for an effective communicator. The challenge 00:03:10.569 --> 00:03:12.909 is a lot of times we don't think about all of 00:03:12.909 --> 00:03:15.229 them or we don't even use all of them. So that's 00:03:15.229 --> 00:03:16.949 it. I thought we would start there and then feel 00:03:16.949 --> 00:03:19.189 free to dive into any of those or maybe share 00:03:19.189 --> 00:03:21.289 some challenges you think our listeners might 00:03:21.289 --> 00:03:23.729 have that I can help them with. Which one do 00:03:23.729 --> 00:03:26.689 you find that people have the most challenge 00:03:26.689 --> 00:03:30.180 with? Well, I think for me, it's the first one. 00:03:30.259 --> 00:03:32.180 You know, the intention is the easiest step. 00:03:32.500 --> 00:03:34.840 It takes the least amount of time, but it's the 00:03:34.840 --> 00:03:36.919 one I think most people tend to skip because 00:03:36.919 --> 00:03:38.979 we want to just jump right in. We want to just 00:03:38.979 --> 00:03:40.599 pick up the phone. We want to just start typing. 00:03:40.699 --> 00:03:42.819 We want to just start running down the hall and 00:03:42.819 --> 00:03:46.240 have a conversation. And what I say is. Intent 00:03:46.240 --> 00:03:49.840 before content. So take 60 seconds and think 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:52.180 for a minute, like, what's my intention for this 00:03:52.180 --> 00:03:55.520 communication? And even if, you know. You do 00:03:55.520 --> 00:03:57.460 all the other steps. If you don't do this step, 00:03:57.580 --> 00:03:59.460 it's really not going to be effective. In fact, 00:03:59.500 --> 00:04:01.300 I tell people when I teach the class, I say, 00:04:01.379 --> 00:04:03.560 you know, after I teach this section, I say, 00:04:03.580 --> 00:04:05.199 if you left right now, please don't. But if you 00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:06.979 just left right now and just did the first step, 00:04:07.099 --> 00:04:09.400 you'd be a better communicator. So the intention 00:04:09.400 --> 00:04:12.560 step to me is probably the one that I think is 00:04:12.560 --> 00:04:14.580 the one people tend to skip most often. What 00:04:14.580 --> 00:04:17.399 would intention look like for them before they 00:04:17.399 --> 00:04:20.329 go? Yeah. Let's say you're going to an after 00:04:20.329 --> 00:04:22.449 hours event, maybe a chambers event or something 00:04:22.449 --> 00:04:23.730 where you're going to meet a lot of potential 00:04:23.730 --> 00:04:26.810 prospects. I would say, first of all, going with 00:04:26.810 --> 00:04:28.970 the intention that I really want to be able to 00:04:28.970 --> 00:04:33.069 meet and listen and learn. Cause really as a, 00:04:33.069 --> 00:04:35.689 in my opinion, no matter what your title is, 00:04:35.790 --> 00:04:37.970 we're all doing the same thing as entrepreneurs. 00:04:38.089 --> 00:04:40.649 We all have the same title and the title is problem 00:04:40.649 --> 00:04:43.889 solver. If you're a realtor, if you're a financial 00:04:43.889 --> 00:04:46.800 planner, if you are a construction. a company, 00:04:46.959 --> 00:04:49.300 you're all doing the same thing. We need what 00:04:49.300 --> 00:04:52.220 I call diagnosed before we prescribe. So when 00:04:52.220 --> 00:04:53.720 you're networking, you really want to make sure 00:04:53.720 --> 00:04:55.899 you go out there with a lot of good questions 00:04:55.899 --> 00:04:58.040 you could be asking to learn as much as possible. 00:04:58.199 --> 00:05:00.379 See, a lot of people think, oh, I got to go out 00:05:00.379 --> 00:05:01.860 there and talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. 00:05:02.079 --> 00:05:03.759 Yeah, you know, you need to be able to talk, 00:05:03.819 --> 00:05:05.279 right? You need to be able to give your what 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:07.899 I call 30 second commercial, right? You should 00:05:07.899 --> 00:05:10.259 know that. But more importantly, what you really 00:05:10.259 --> 00:05:13.019 want to do. is get to meet people, begin to find 00:05:13.019 --> 00:05:15.220 out what their needs are. And then really a lot 00:05:15.220 --> 00:05:16.500 of times, you know what, if you just spend a 00:05:16.500 --> 00:05:18.079 lot of time asking good questions and listening, 00:05:18.199 --> 00:05:21.240 people think you're amazing. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 00:05:21.339 --> 00:05:23.759 And you know, what's funny is you say good questions. 00:05:24.120 --> 00:05:26.279 You can ask questions, but not all questions 00:05:26.279 --> 00:05:30.439 are good questions. Give me, give me an idea. 00:05:30.519 --> 00:05:32.899 The other thing too, is if you're going to an 00:05:32.899 --> 00:05:35.480 event, you know, maybe spend a few moments intentionally 00:05:35.480 --> 00:05:38.399 thinking, who are their ideal prospects for me? 00:05:38.779 --> 00:05:40.399 right i mean i can go to the event and i can 00:05:40.399 --> 00:05:42.040 meet everybody or i can think you know really 00:05:42.040 --> 00:05:44.300 i like to work with and i'm most valuable for 00:05:44.300 --> 00:05:46.759 you know home buyers i'm just picking on your 00:05:46.759 --> 00:05:49.540 area so as i'm meeting people i might be finding 00:05:49.540 --> 00:05:50.939 out if they're a home buyer and if they're not 00:05:50.939 --> 00:05:53.100 i'm not going to go bye -bye you know but but 00:05:53.100 --> 00:05:56.259 my goal is to find home buyers so i would do 00:05:56.259 --> 00:05:58.079 some homework before the event i might look and 00:05:58.079 --> 00:06:00.160 see who's registered go to the registration list 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:02.319 are there people that i think might be potential 00:06:02.319 --> 00:06:04.910 home buyer or whatever your topic might be. So 00:06:04.910 --> 00:06:07.670 the idea of networking and intention is to spend 00:06:07.670 --> 00:06:10.269 some time in advance thinking about what the 00:06:10.269 --> 00:06:12.470 goal or the intention is for the event. And then 00:06:12.470 --> 00:06:14.870 the other thing I think is for a networker is, 00:06:14.870 --> 00:06:17.810 as I call it, the BDA approach. You can tell 00:06:17.810 --> 00:06:21.970 I got a lot of systems. But the BDA system is 00:06:21.970 --> 00:06:25.730 really good for networking before, during, and 00:06:25.730 --> 00:06:28.189 after. So what do I do before I go out to the 00:06:28.189 --> 00:06:29.970 network? I have a list of people I want to meet. 00:06:30.050 --> 00:06:32.110 I've got my 30 second elevator pitch. I got business 00:06:32.110 --> 00:06:34.350 cards or a QR code on my phone, whatever you 00:06:34.350 --> 00:06:37.110 need. What do I do while I'm there? Right. I 00:06:37.110 --> 00:06:39.629 remember names. I use the names. I ask good questions. 00:06:39.949 --> 00:06:42.970 I try to build great rapport. I try to think 00:06:42.970 --> 00:06:45.629 of ways that I can find how I can get to connect 00:06:45.629 --> 00:06:47.449 with them in some way. And then what do you do 00:06:47.449 --> 00:06:49.509 after? So, you know, even though you go to an 00:06:49.509 --> 00:06:52.250 event and you got good questions, really, the 00:06:52.250 --> 00:06:53.990 after is the most important, because if you meet 00:06:53.990 --> 00:06:56.180 people and you don't follow up. Then you're not 00:06:56.180 --> 00:06:58.199 going to get any new clients. Right. So the BDA 00:06:58.199 --> 00:07:00.540 before, during and after. And again, in every 00:07:00.540 --> 00:07:02.259 one of those steps. Right. It's a different intention. 00:07:02.759 --> 00:07:04.860 But there's a couple of thoughts about networking 00:07:04.860 --> 00:07:09.100 and intention. I love that BDA before, during 00:07:09.100 --> 00:07:11.720 and after. And I think that that would be suitable 00:07:11.720 --> 00:07:14.720 for anyone going anywhere. You know what I mean? 00:07:14.779 --> 00:07:17.699 Like and that's that's setting an intention of 00:07:17.699 --> 00:07:20.160 knowing what you're going to do. So I like that. 00:07:20.759 --> 00:07:24.019 We'll say this, the after, it's always the follow 00:07:24.019 --> 00:07:26.040 -up. That's probably the most challenging, the 00:07:26.040 --> 00:07:30.139 follow -up and staying in contact. I was looking 00:07:30.139 --> 00:07:33.579 at the impact, and I would actually like for 00:07:33.579 --> 00:07:36.839 you to explain a little bit more on the C, the 00:07:36.839 --> 00:07:40.759 clarify a little bit. Yes. Well, the C -step 00:07:40.759 --> 00:07:42.540 is clarify, and that is how do you make sure 00:07:42.540 --> 00:07:45.220 the message you sent is the same message, right? 00:07:45.439 --> 00:07:48.620 And so a lot of people think that we're in charge 00:07:48.620 --> 00:07:52.509 of the message. But in reality, the meaning of 00:07:52.509 --> 00:07:54.649 the message doesn't come from the sender always. 00:07:54.730 --> 00:07:57.730 It comes a lot from the receiver. So we want 00:07:57.730 --> 00:07:59.550 to make sure that the message we're sending is 00:07:59.550 --> 00:08:02.509 being received effectively. So in the clarification 00:08:02.509 --> 00:08:05.329 step, we talk about how do you check for understanding, 00:08:05.529 --> 00:08:08.750 right? And one example for me would be, and I 00:08:08.750 --> 00:08:10.689 go through six or seven tools when I teach the 00:08:10.689 --> 00:08:13.050 workshop, but one tool I just want to share right 00:08:13.050 --> 00:08:17.120 now is a summary. OK, so let's say you met a 00:08:17.120 --> 00:08:19.259 new prospect and you're having a great conversation 00:08:19.259 --> 00:08:21.920 and you're getting ready to wrap up and you kind 00:08:21.920 --> 00:08:23.399 of want to make sure, you know, that we're both 00:08:23.399 --> 00:08:25.939 on the same page. So you might do a summary. 00:08:26.379 --> 00:08:28.720 And so there's two ways to do a summary. Most 00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:31.420 people do what I call the summary where I go, 00:08:31.500 --> 00:08:33.460 hey, you know, Joanne, it's so good to see you 00:08:33.460 --> 00:08:35.620 as you wrap up. I just want to kind of check 00:08:35.620 --> 00:08:37.279 in. So I'm kind of hearing that you're interested 00:08:37.279 --> 00:08:40.120 in possibly finding a realtor and, you know, 00:08:40.139 --> 00:08:42.019 you would love to maybe stay in touch and that, 00:08:42.059 --> 00:08:45.059 which is fine. But I suggest if you haven't done 00:08:45.059 --> 00:08:48.460 this to try the other person summary. So I'm 00:08:48.460 --> 00:08:49.679 going to ask you, have you ever done an other 00:08:49.679 --> 00:08:51.639 person summary? Would you get the other person 00:08:51.639 --> 00:08:55.840 to summarize? No, no, never. So for example, 00:08:55.940 --> 00:08:57.580 and I do this a lot when I have a coaching call, 00:08:57.620 --> 00:08:59.500 as you wrap up, I'll say, hey, listen, as we 00:08:59.500 --> 00:09:01.120 wrap up today, I'm kind of curious, what are 00:09:01.120 --> 00:09:03.220 some of the takeaways you have from our call 00:09:03.220 --> 00:09:05.679 today that you think are valuable for you? And 00:09:05.679 --> 00:09:07.820 then instead of me saying, OK, don't forget to 00:09:07.820 --> 00:09:09.639 do one, two, three, four, they'll go, well, I 00:09:09.639 --> 00:09:11.679 think I'm going to do one and two and four. And 00:09:11.679 --> 00:09:13.840 I'll say, yes, that's great. And you talked about 00:09:13.840 --> 00:09:15.720 three. Oh, that's right. Three. I forgot about 00:09:15.720 --> 00:09:19.559 three. So sometimes one way to clarify is to 00:09:19.559 --> 00:09:21.399 do a summary, but maybe instead of you doing 00:09:21.399 --> 00:09:23.500 it, to ask them to do it. So how would that look 00:09:23.500 --> 00:09:25.700 in a networking event? Some might say, hey, you 00:09:25.700 --> 00:09:27.240 know, as you're wrapping up, I really, really 00:09:27.240 --> 00:09:28.639 enjoyed meeting with you. What would you say 00:09:28.639 --> 00:09:30.580 be some of the next steps for us to do in terms 00:09:30.580 --> 00:09:34.100 of staying in touch? Yes. And they'll say. Well, 00:09:34.179 --> 00:09:35.620 you know, why don't you give me your card? Or, 00:09:35.620 --> 00:09:38.159 you know, I'm looking probably not till the spring. 00:09:38.299 --> 00:09:40.379 So can I, you know, so then they'll tell you 00:09:40.379 --> 00:09:42.120 what they want, what they need. And then you're 00:09:42.120 --> 00:09:44.559 going to hear what you've actually communicated. 00:09:44.940 --> 00:09:47.659 And if they go something like, well, I'm good. 00:09:47.720 --> 00:09:49.279 I don't really think there's a good connection 00:09:49.279 --> 00:09:51.899 here. I mean, for me, the first thing is, well, 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:53.500 I'm going to have to get better at that because 00:09:53.500 --> 00:09:56.120 obviously I didn't communicate well, right? So 00:09:56.120 --> 00:09:59.220 that's one idea where the C -step in terms of 00:09:59.220 --> 00:10:02.919 clarifying. It would be helpful. So I would say 00:10:02.919 --> 00:10:04.259 if you're listening and you're an entrepreneur, 00:10:04.480 --> 00:10:06.659 I give you a homework assignment. And that is, 00:10:06.659 --> 00:10:09.840 what are some good clarifying questions or techniques 00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:12.460 you could use to make sure you're both on the 00:10:12.460 --> 00:10:15.100 same page? I gave you one, for example, the summary 00:10:15.100 --> 00:10:17.259 technique, but come up with some great tools 00:10:17.259 --> 00:10:19.559 so that when you're talking to a prospect, you're 00:10:19.559 --> 00:10:21.379 really making sure that they're hearing what 00:10:21.379 --> 00:10:23.860 you want them to hear and you're learning more 00:10:23.860 --> 00:10:27.039 about what their needs are. What's your why? 00:10:28.529 --> 00:10:31.350 You know, it's really interesting because my 00:10:31.350 --> 00:10:32.970 undergrad degree is in radio and television. 00:10:33.570 --> 00:10:35.929 And when I was growing up, I always loved to 00:10:35.929 --> 00:10:38.110 be in front of groups and I loved helping. And 00:10:38.110 --> 00:10:40.350 I've done a lot of volunteer work. But when I 00:10:40.350 --> 00:10:42.110 when I started my business, you know, my big, 00:10:42.110 --> 00:10:44.649 big why was that I wanted to be able to make 00:10:44.649 --> 00:10:46.429 a difference. I want to make an impact. Ironically, 00:10:46.490 --> 00:10:48.809 that's the book title. Right. But but I really 00:10:48.809 --> 00:10:51.629 always felt that there is things that I could 00:10:51.629 --> 00:10:54.320 be doing to make others lives better. And so 00:10:54.320 --> 00:10:57.879 my real why is helping other people reach their 00:10:57.879 --> 00:11:00.340 highest potential. And it just so happens that 00:11:00.340 --> 00:11:03.299 I do that in the arena of communication skills. 00:11:03.659 --> 00:11:06.940 But I think all of us want to be the best. And 00:11:06.940 --> 00:11:08.700 so my job is to help people get to that point 00:11:08.700 --> 00:11:10.840 where they can be the best. What did you do with 00:11:10.840 --> 00:11:12.700 it other than what you're doing now? What did 00:11:12.700 --> 00:11:14.860 you start off doing? Now I'm being nosy, Patrick. 00:11:15.100 --> 00:11:17.899 Yeah, well, I mean, I went to college in my undergraduate 00:11:17.899 --> 00:11:20.179 in radio and television, and I did a lot of on 00:11:20.179 --> 00:11:23.019 -air work. I did radio. I did TV. And what I 00:11:23.019 --> 00:11:25.779 found out very early on, though, was I didn't 00:11:25.779 --> 00:11:27.899 like being in a booth with just a microphone 00:11:27.899 --> 00:11:31.919 because I never got any feedback. So what I ended 00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:34.980 up doing was I moved my major from on -air talent 00:11:34.980 --> 00:11:38.500 to RTV management and eventually got an MBA. 00:11:39.479 --> 00:11:41.960 But those skill sets I learned early on about 00:11:41.960 --> 00:11:43.899 being on the air and communicating and being 00:11:43.899 --> 00:11:46.419 concise and energetic were skills that I've used 00:11:46.419 --> 00:11:49.419 the rest of my life. And when COVID came, right, 00:11:49.480 --> 00:11:53.120 and we all went on our laptops, I was like dusting 00:11:53.120 --> 00:11:55.720 off my old TV skill sets that I hadn't used in 00:11:55.720 --> 00:11:59.539 a couple of years. But I think to me, I knew 00:11:59.539 --> 00:12:03.100 early on that I loved communicating and I was 00:12:03.100 --> 00:12:05.659 always fairly good at it. And I found out that 00:12:05.659 --> 00:12:07.919 whenever I was in a position, I always got a 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:09.809 lot of compliments about. the kind of questions 00:12:09.809 --> 00:12:12.909 I asked about the connections I made. So that's 00:12:12.909 --> 00:12:14.690 just kind of moved me more towards saying, hey, 00:12:14.710 --> 00:12:17.250 you know what? We need to listen to others. When 00:12:17.250 --> 00:12:19.309 you want to learn your why, you know, your why 00:12:19.309 --> 00:12:21.169 is already there. Just sometimes we have to go 00:12:21.169 --> 00:12:23.190 back and dig a little bit to figure out where 00:12:23.190 --> 00:12:25.850 it is because you can't just see it. Absolutely. 00:12:26.250 --> 00:12:29.350 On a scale of one to 10, how important do you 00:12:29.350 --> 00:12:32.590 think communication is being a business person, 00:12:32.889 --> 00:12:36.210 a leader and or an entrepreneur? Well, you know, 00:12:36.250 --> 00:12:40.179 I'm biased. But I'm going to say it's a 10. I'm 00:12:40.179 --> 00:12:42.200 going to say it's a 10 because everything you 00:12:42.200 --> 00:12:44.559 do is all about communicating. And by the way, 00:12:44.559 --> 00:12:46.340 when I say communicating, there's a word that 00:12:46.340 --> 00:12:48.519 I want to add to that that I think is important. 00:12:48.879 --> 00:12:51.080 And it's a skill set that we don't really learn 00:12:51.080 --> 00:12:55.039 in school. And that is listening. So communication 00:12:55.039 --> 00:12:58.440 is two way. It's about being able to talk. But 00:12:58.440 --> 00:13:00.779 even more so, it's about being a good listener. 00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:03.320 And if you're an entrepreneur, I would say if 00:13:03.320 --> 00:13:05.899 you had to build any skill set, it would be asking 00:13:05.899 --> 00:13:08.639 great questions. being a good listener, because 00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:11.600 we are in the problem solving business. If you 00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:14.399 don't understand the problem or challenge of 00:13:14.399 --> 00:13:16.360 your potential customer, you're not going to 00:13:16.360 --> 00:13:17.919 be able to help them. And if you can't help them, 00:13:17.960 --> 00:13:19.940 then you're not going to get like good word of 00:13:19.940 --> 00:13:22.179 mouth or your business isn't going to grow. Right. 00:13:22.279 --> 00:13:25.139 So listening is very, very important. That's 00:13:25.139 --> 00:13:26.820 just one piece I wanted to blend in there when 00:13:26.820 --> 00:13:30.539 I talk about communication. Absolutely. So when 00:13:30.539 --> 00:13:33.460 you when you did discuss the impact, there is 00:13:33.460 --> 00:13:36.620 no room for L. So would that be in the active? 00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:39.399 active part of it which is right it's active 00:13:39.399 --> 00:13:41.960 listening right so the a is active listening 00:13:41.960 --> 00:13:44.059 and active engagement and you know listening 00:13:44.059 --> 00:13:46.100 is great but active listening is even better 00:13:46.100 --> 00:13:48.899 because listening is hearing right listening 00:13:48.899 --> 00:13:50.820 is like you know right now you're probably listening 00:13:50.820 --> 00:13:52.620 and there's some noise in the background or the 00:13:52.620 --> 00:13:54.860 dog's barking you know but when you're really 00:13:54.860 --> 00:13:57.039 when you're really actively listening you're 00:13:57.039 --> 00:13:58.980 totally focused on the other person you're paying 00:13:58.980 --> 00:14:01.039 attention to the non -verbals you're picking 00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:03.500 up on subtle cues and of course you're hearing 00:14:03.500 --> 00:14:05.840 the words and whenever you feel like there's 00:14:05.840 --> 00:14:07.940 a disconnect You're taking your time then to 00:14:07.940 --> 00:14:09.960 check back in because it's active listening. 00:14:10.039 --> 00:14:11.419 It's not just about sitting there. It's about 00:14:11.419 --> 00:14:13.480 sometimes it's about taking notes, sometimes 00:14:13.480 --> 00:14:15.360 about politely interrupting when appropriate, 00:14:15.559 --> 00:14:18.120 asking deeper questions. So it goes into the 00:14:18.120 --> 00:14:20.679 activation step for active listening. What's 00:14:20.679 --> 00:14:24.480 your goal for being on this show today? You know, 00:14:24.539 --> 00:14:27.100 my point and I've been in business now, let's 00:14:27.100 --> 00:14:29.100 be I'll be frank. It's been over two decades. 00:14:29.299 --> 00:14:31.679 I mean, I'm at the point where I really love 00:14:31.679 --> 00:14:33.080 what I'm doing. But more importantly, now I'm 00:14:33.080 --> 00:14:35.480 at the point where I love paying forward. So 00:14:35.480 --> 00:14:37.240 my goal today was to give some good ideas, to 00:14:37.240 --> 00:14:39.740 give some tips that people can use. I know what 00:14:39.740 --> 00:14:41.279 it's like to be an entrepreneur. I've been doing 00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:43.419 it for a couple of decades. And I know the first 00:14:43.419 --> 00:14:45.440 three to five years are the most difficult. So 00:14:45.440 --> 00:14:47.679 if you're a new entrepreneur in those first three 00:14:47.679 --> 00:14:49.580 to five years, I'm hoping you've got a couple 00:14:49.580 --> 00:14:51.480 of things you can think about today about being 00:14:51.480 --> 00:14:53.580 a better listener. And one last thing I'll say 00:14:53.580 --> 00:14:56.019 to me is that no matter what you do, there's 00:14:56.019 --> 00:14:58.320 one skill set that all entrepreneurs need to 00:14:58.320 --> 00:15:01.019 get better at, and that is prospecting and selling. 00:15:01.860 --> 00:15:03.700 because we're great at what we do, but if we 00:15:03.700 --> 00:15:05.360 don't get someone to pay us, we're not going 00:15:05.360 --> 00:15:08.320 to be able to stay in business. So to wrap things 00:15:08.320 --> 00:15:10.240 up, I guess, when I think about communicating, 00:15:10.559 --> 00:15:12.720 I want you to think about. How are you going 00:15:12.720 --> 00:15:15.100 to be able to diagnose before you prescribe? 00:15:15.419 --> 00:15:16.919 How are you going to be able to find out what 00:15:16.919 --> 00:15:19.080 the needs are of your potential customers? And 00:15:19.080 --> 00:15:21.240 then, of course, build deep relationships, go 00:15:21.240 --> 00:15:24.139 the extra mile, add tremendous value, and make 00:15:24.139 --> 00:15:26.500 sure that people are so excited and happy they 00:15:26.500 --> 00:15:28.519 want to tell other people about you. And all 00:15:28.519 --> 00:15:31.360 of those things come back to that one word, communication. 00:15:32.220 --> 00:15:34.220 Thank you for being here today. I'm really happy 00:15:34.220 --> 00:15:36.440 that you tuned in to Vision Pros Live. I'm looking 00:15:36.440 --> 00:15:39.700 forward to seeing your reactions as these episodes 00:15:39.700 --> 00:15:41.480 continue to move forward. This is going to get 00:15:41.480 --> 00:15:44.120 more and more fun. We'll have more and more engagement 00:15:44.120 --> 00:15:46.200 as well. We'll invite people to participate in 00:15:46.200 --> 00:15:48.379 the show. And thank you for giving us your time 00:15:48.379 --> 00:15:50.679 and attention. Have an excellent time building 00:15:50.679 --> 00:15:53.019 out your vision and becoming a vision pro yourself.