Even before the COVID pandemic happened, I’d begun to notice that people were getting a little…weird. Little things like being able to look people in the eye when speaking became awkward. Or, the endless number of business emails to new people that didn’t have punctuation. People seemed to struggle connecting with others. I decided to bring up what I’ve been noticing because we’ve just spent a solid year fighting a pandemic. A year where we were under lockdown, avoided close physical proximity to people as much as we could and let’s face it-we’ve gotten weirder. In this short episode I’m going to talk about the two skills that you have to work on moving forward. These two skills will help you at work or grow your business if you’re an entrepreneur. Finally, developing these skills will also help you in making connections with people on a personal basis.
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Show Notes
So, just in case you’re wondering what the two skills everyone needs to develop are, I’m going to share what they are. They are soft skills and people skills. It’s my view, actually, that soft skills should have improved during the pandemic because we’ve been communicating by email. Well, that hasn’t happened. People were caught using the bathroom during Zoom meetings, we became even more feral and understandably more uneasy meeting people. I totally get it. But, as our vaccine numbers go up and we move back to “normal” we need to have a conversation. People have gotten weird and this may be blocking their growth personally and professionally. No, you don’t have to be an extrovert to manage connections with people better.
How My Business Has Grown During COVID
Why am I bringing this up? The #1 reason my business has grown even during the ‘Rona is because of my network. In episode 131 I discussed why financial allies are so important. What I didn’t really share was how I fostered those connections. Here’s what I did.
- I met people where they were at. Either at in-person events such as conferences, Meetups, or even online.
- I didn’t promise what I couldn’t do. For example, I never promised to hang out, etc. But, I did try to be consistent where I decided to show up.
- Supported without expectation. A lot of the people that I’ve meet in online content creation space are doing cool things. I share what they’re working on and support what they’re doing. In some cases, if it makes sense, I will invite them onto my podcast and share their work with the people who follow my platform. I’ll shout them out on social media or talk about them in person.
- Contribute what I can-You may feel like you don’t have something to offer others. You do! I always forward opportunities that I hear about to people that I think may benefit from the opportunity. It could be a grant, job lead, etc. Or, reach out if you notice someone struggling.
How to Meet and Foster Connections
COVID has been crazy. I hope to never live during a pandemic again. That said, I’ve made a number of connections throughout the year and strengthened previous connections. Here are some things that I’ve noticed from the process.
- Coffee shops are a great non-judgemental place to meet people. This may vary from place to place in terms social norms. Write down the names of the people who work at your favorite coffee shops or shop there.
- Socially distant meetups are happening. I’ve masked up and attended Meetups that are being held outside. I’ve made sure that I was far away from people and just connected.
- Not ready for in-person quite yet? Join Zoom meetings. I know that they take a certain type of energy. But, they have been a key part of growing my business for years prior to COVID. You can also host a meeting about a topic. You don’t have to lead the conversation, you can invite a guest.
- Don’t force it. People are distracted and have a lot going on. Go with the flow and don’t take it personally if you’re not besties overnight. That’s not a reasonable expectation.
- Join closed groups on social media when invited. I belong to two very different ones. And they’ve proven to be very lucrative for my business. I’ve gotten front row insight into how how high earning online entrepreneurs “Do What they Do” in their businesses. If you don’t have a social media profile on that app, it may be worthwhile just for the group.
- Remember the small things-The name of people’s pets if you’ve met them. Random projects that they’ve mentioned. Trips that they’ve gone on, etc. And ask about them with genuine interest.
The Soft Skills Matter
I’ve really noticed that people’s soft skills can make or break everything. What are soft skills? I’ve seen them defined in various ways as the unspoken skills that help you work well with others. The tricky thing about soft skills-people don’t talk about them enough and supervisors often don’t have the time or use the language needed to share the soft skills expectations.
- The ability to listen
- Email skills such as:
- Answering the question posed
- Punctuation
- Tone
- Always be more formal in the beginning of an exchange. I recently picked up a very lucrative client and in the email exchanges-I was formal. Then, the contact gave me “permission” to be informal.
- Timeliness-Translates into respect for many people
- Critical thinking-especially as it relates to team focused work
- Problem solving
- Emotional awareness-how do you manage your anger, etc.
- Communication skills
- Empathy or lack there of
- How do you manage conflict?
The past year has given me a lot of insight into people’s soft skills. In fact, there were some guys that I followed on social media who I found attractive until watching them whine about mask mandates for the past year. Huge turn off. There are politicians who’ve discovered are good people but struggle with their soft skills. I’m looking forward to the day when my Governor can focus on what he enjoys doing-making money. Instead of managing the COVID response which he has done a pretty solid job of doing. But, listening to him speak sometimes reminds me of a robot.
If you’re not sure about your soft skills pay attention to the feedback that you get from other people. It’s likely that the areas that you’re struggling in are the areas that you’re getting feedback on.
Becoming self-aware is the key to understanding your soft skill strengths and weaknesses. We all have them. By the way, even though I’m an extrovert, I’m an only child extrovert. There are moments when I hit my limit and I leave LOL! Know how you can show up a 100% and when you have to leave when that energy level declines.
As we make our way out of COVID remember that all of us are a little bit weird. But,
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