In all business discussions, there is a goal. Maybe not a stated, written-on-a-mission-statement type of goal. But there is still a goal.
Perhaps it is a goal to share information, impress someone, close a deal, make a sell, make a purchase, make a referral, learn something, teach something or even avoid answering a question.
A challenge for many people in business communications is that they may not keep in mind the purpose of a discussion. They may also not understand or keep in mind the goals of the other people in the conversation.
One of the most common mistakes in business discussions is forgetting the point of the conversation because of personal insecurities. This usually is a result of someone trying too hard to impress others. Candidly, we’ve all done this AND we’ve all had it done to us. What makes this even more challenging is that personal insecurities are often harder to see these in ourselves than in others.
The problem with this effort to impress is that it rarely works. People, by nature, learn to observe actions, empathy and applicable expertise. In fact, working too hard to impress others actually does the opposite. All that effort can result in a loss of credibility. And that makes success very difficult.
Want to have more success?
Just remember what you are trying to accomplish and pay close attention to others so you can better understand what they are wanting to accomplish.
This sounds EXTREMELY simple but is often a lost skill (or a skill never learned). But like most skills, you can work and practice so this becomes second nature. And that is a good thing for all!
