I love people! I love connecting with them! I am energized by being around them. I’ve been told one of my greatest strengths is my ability to connect with others. While I don’t claim to be an expert by any means, I thought I’d share some assumptions I make when I connect with people.
When connecting with people, I always assume:
Everybody Needs Encouragement – Encouragement really does change everything. Everyone needs encouraged to be their best, do their best, and encouraged to keep going. I try to encourage everyone I come in contact as often as I can.
Everyone Has a Dream in Their Heart – Everyone. Even if they have never gone after it. Even if they think it’s impossible. I try to find out what the dream of their heart is and find ways I can help them make it happen!
Everyone Wants to Talk About Themselves – This is key in conversations! Especially interviews. If you get people to talk about themselves, often you won’t have to contribute a lot to the conversation. I try to be a better listener than I am as a speaker.
Everybody longs to be Loved, Wanted, Liked, and Accepted – This is common sense, but the key is realizing that most people are willing to do anything to be loved and accepted. I try to love people, no matter what. I also try to make them feel accepted & wanted in whatever social setting we’re in.
Everybody Wants to be a Part of and Contribute to Something Big – Whether it’s a concert, a movement, a church, a organization, everyone wants to say they were a part of something big. If I’m a part of something, I want to bring as many people along for the journey as I can. I want them to feel like they are a part of something bigger than themselves!
Everybody has a Good Heart – I know this assumption can lead to some extreme negatives, and I wouldn’t recommend any girl thinking that every guy has a good heart! However, I generally try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt! I believe everyone, deep down, has a good heart and means well. As a result, I’ll love on everyone I meet and assume that they’ll a great person!
Everybody Has a Normal Life – I can’t say I never get star struck, but I can say when I meet successful people, once I get over their “success” and see them as a person, I always remind myself that as successful as these people are, they still come home and probably act goofy in front of their family, they still have problems, and they wanted to be treated like a normal person, not as a celebrity. My goal in these situations is always to get to a point in my relationship with them where we can treat each other like family!
Everyone is Good at Something and Passionate about Something – I always try to find the “key” to someone’s heart. What are they truly passionate about? What do they love to do? What are they good at? Once I find it, I try making that the subject of the conversation and try to find ways to put their gifts and passions to work!
These are just some assumptions I make when connecting with people.
What assumptions do you make?
4 Responses
I tend to avoid the word “assume” because it has negative connotations, but I “believe” that in addition to some (not all) of the things you said, above, everyone has insecurities – this can be very helpful to remember.
Marsh!
I think I need you as my personal editor! I need to run things past you before I publish them! I love the way you think! I agree, the insecurity thing is huge! Thanks for adding to the list! That got me thinking through how I can better connect through the knowledge of others being insecure!
Thanks for engaging in the conversation!
Doug
great content dude! thanks for keeping the posts coming.
Thanks Michael Will! I’m excited to spend some time with you tonight!