Relationships « An Extra Hour Every Day

Mar

08

Change your mind-set to easily connect with other people

by Nicolas

images-2 Every day we have multiple opportunities to interact with other people. This includes people we already know but most of the times we are surrounded by people we do not know yet. Have you ever actively thought about how you approach people you don’t know? Does is regularly happen to you that would like to talk to someone you don’t know but you hesitate and miss the opportunity? A change in your mind-set with regards to other people can make a huge difference in your approach.

images-31 I recently read the book of Steve Pavlina “Personal Development for Smart People” and found a simple but very effective advice on how set your mind-set to be more open when meeting new people. One of his ideas is to image that you already are connected to all other people. I tried to apply this idea for a few weeks and the results are amazing. I am living a Tokyo - the largest city of the world - and you basically don’t care about people these many people you interact with every day. Thinking that you are connected already makes you more friendly in the first place. It probably is common sense that people then react in a nice way and both feel good.

But it also is amazing how much easier it becomes to approach totally new people. I tried this on a fair for Japanese food last week since it was the perfect occasion to interact with strangers. The idea of Steve Pavlina changed my approach and I never felt uncomfortable talking to someone . Discussions with other people started in a very natural and open way with a human touch.

You also have t be aware that this approach does not become a habit immediately. It takes a few weeks until you automatically apply it to every person you meet. But I can assure you that it is worth going for it. It does not cost money or hours of preparation - just a though to be connected already before you start talking.

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Jan

07

Making successful contacts on networking events

by Nicolas

Networking is an important part of business and there are all kind of opportunities to expand it. Although it is easy to participate on networking events it seems difficult to make useful contacts and to turn these into business. It happened many times to me that I returned with a large pack of business cards without having any proper follow up. After a while I decided to change the approach.

Instead of trying to make as many contact as possible I focussed on quality. When going to a networking event I set myself a goal to return with one promising contact. That approach keeps me relaxed during the event and after I have chosen my most promising contact it is much easier to properly follow-up on this one and to forget about the other ones.

When writing this post I wondered how others capitalize from networking events. PLease share your experiences and ideas in the comment section. Thanks.

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Nov

24

Xobni - Outlook plug in to manage contacts and communication

by Nicolas

I recently found a very interesting plug in for MS Outlook, which is called Xobni (backwards for inbox). It adds column to your outlook on the right side where it summarizes all information on a contact you have, displaying contact details (even if the person is not in your address-book), conversations, shared attachments, social network memberships. The key benefits are that you have all contact information including statistics at your finger tips and that it reduces the time you spend searching for phone numbers or attachments. The tool is free and xobni plans to launch an extended version which will be billable.

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Oct

27

Plan fixed time for networking

by Nicolas

In business it is very important that you maintain a good network with people inside and outside your company. Day to day operations is very busy and it sometime can be very difficult to maintain contact with certain people. I therefore suggest that you create a fixed time slot in your calendar where you just focus on refreshing relationships.

During this time you make phone calls, write emails or letters to people whom you don’t see often but whom you want to keep in touch with. You might also plan one evening per week (or more) to go meet such people for a drink or a dinner.

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Sep

21

Schedule phone appointments

by Nicolas

Using the phone is an important part in daily work and in maintaining relationships. When you call someone spontaneously there is a high risk that the person is absent or that you are disturbing the person. A better way to make - especially important - phone calls is to schedule them like a physical appointment. This also ensures that all parties all well prepared and that the call can be completed in the most effective manner.

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Sep

06

Take photos for your address book

by Nicolas

Buidling up and maintaining a network requires to manage many contacts in your address book. After a while you might get problems remembering every person, especially when it comes to associate a face to each name. On the other hand you know from your own experience that it makes your counterparts feel good if you remember them quickly - even if you only met once a long time ago.

There are people who have the wonderful gift of a great memory for people’s faces and their names. For all others who do not have that gift, technology can be a great ally. I recently started asking people if they allow me to make a picture of them with the camera of my mobile phone, which I will store in my address book.

Most people laugh about it and acceppt instantly admitting that this is a good idea. I think that this is not against any convention and that most people will easily accept if properly asked. Otherwise there are good chances of finding someone’s photo on a social network for business.

Having a face stored in each contact will make it much easier for you to remember people and it will at least allow you to have a quick check before meeting people again whom you don’t remember anymore. BTW, most people forgot that you made a photo of them and are impressed when you can immediatly identify each member of a group. Its up to you if you will convey you remind them or keep a small secret
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Aug

25

Ordering business cards

by Nicolas

Exchanging business cards is a vital part in establishing new relationships. You therefore cannot allow to run out of stock. I therefore recommend ordering cards in large lots (200 or more). In large companies you have a higher risk of changing the cards due to changes of organization names and titles, but you can take this risk considering that the costs for processing one purchase order in a large company is probably higher than the value of the business cards themselves.

On one hand large order quantities will significantly reduce the printing costs per card. On the other hand you also make sure that you always have sufficient stock of business cards. You should then store some cards in your desk, in your wallet as well as in your travel luggage.

If you want to remind you to order new cards once you have reached the minimum stock you can put a small piece of paper saying “order new business cards” inside the last full box of cards in your stock.

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