Meet the basic human needs of people when you are talking and the result will be that people will listen.
Here are a few skills that you can practice to talk so people will listen.
In the book “How to win friends and influence people”, Dale Carnegie suggests.
1. Be interested in others - ask questions, find out what their interests are, be genuinely interested in what they have to say. Clear your mind of the all the clutter that will hijack your attention.
2. Smile - smile at people because your face gets use to the resting position that occupies your face most of the time. Friendly can set you apart from others. Smiles are free, so hand them out often,
3. Use a person’s name - people love the sound of their name. If you cannot remember their name, make an effort to mention what you remember about them. When you mention details about them that says you have taken an interest in them.
4. Be a good listener - be interested in their full conversation. Do not cherry pick pieces of the conversation and then overtalk by changing the conversation to you. If you are an over talker then try using the formula of one mouth and two ears. We should listen twice as much as we talk.
5. Talk in terms of benefits to the other person - you can touch people’s heart by turning the conversation to mutual benefit by seeking the interest of the other person first. Stephen Covey’s habit 5 of the 7 habits says “Seek first to understand, then be understood”. This is the most valuable skills you can develop when it comes to interacting with others.
6. Make other people feel important - we can turn to the golden rule on this skill. Treat others how you would like to be treated. Learn what is important to them and customize your interaction with them based on what you have learned specifically about them. This will give you a unique relationship with each individua.
Practice the 6 skills mentioned above to enhance your conversations with people. In other words talk so people will listen.