Seven Conversation Hacks
Full-body listening
My current meeting power move took years to develop, but it is easy to describe.
I listen. I listen very, very hard.
This is a full-body effort that involves:
Sitting up straight.
Feet flat on the ground.
Looking directly at the person currently speaking and,
Removing every single other noise from my head.
That last bullet is the part where most people struggle because meetings, they wander… even the good ones. I’ve wasted years of my life attending meetings where I sit down and check out. I open my laptop, look at my phone, and do nothing except gather value from this meeting.
What a waste.
Seven Conversation Hacks augments this full-body listening effort because part of actively listening is actively shaping the conversation. There are significantly more than seven, but these are my go-to’s. These are the conversational hacks that work almost every time.