Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Going to the dogs (and cats)
I'm finding I always know I'm going to have an easy transaction with someone if they have a picture of their dog (or cat) on their desk (and/or a pet calendar on their wall). As soon as I say "is that your dog" things go really smoothly from there - because if there's a pet picture on their desk we're clearly going to bond.
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Cindy,
I'd extend your observation: Whenever you have a chance to observe someone and identify something in which they are interested in which you also have an interest, consider raising it with them. We all like to be treated like humans - taking the time to make someone into a person instead of a transaction is worth it, even if you don't improve the outcome of your transaction. If the environment is stressful, though, I'd suggest focusing on peaceful or tranquil topics (like pets, as you suggested). There's no point in reminding him/her that the baseball team you both love just lost again :-)
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