4 Tips To Connect With Anyone

Every relationship begins with a connection. This is how friendships begin and love grows. Knowing how to connect with others helps us to be better friends, better lovers, better parents, better mates, better bosses. Knowing how to connect with others allows us to create a greater impact in people’s lives and enormously enrich our lives.

The connection also allows us to grow professionally, because it helps us to get closer to others, both to close a deal, to encourage our co-workers, and to communicate more effectively.

Connecting with people like us is relatively easy. When we have common interests and character aspects, it is all in all simple to create a connection; however,  connecting with people who are very different from us can be quite difficult.

We cannot always expect to relate to people with whom the connection arises easily, on the contrary: we often have to face individuals with whom it is very difficult to connect, but succeeding is fundamental. A positive relationship with a co-worker, with the boss, with a client, with a child, with a pupil, with a neighbor and even with our partner depends on it.

How to connect with the people you know

Being good at making connections will allow you to start relationships on the right foot, solve problems and progress in your personal and professional life with more chances of success. Here are some effective ways to do this.

Be careful

A gesture as basic as listening to the other and paying attention to him can be the solution to connect with him from the first moment and to keep this bond alive. If you actively listen to your interlocutor, you will send him a clear message: “I care about you”.

Similarly, when you don’t listen or don’t seem attentive, the other will get the opposite message: “I don’t care, you’re not important enough for me to stop doing what I’m doing to pay attention to you.”

It is important that you seek and maintain a visual connection with your interlocutor so that listening is active and actually seems so. People who look in the eye are able to connect better with others because, in doing so, they show interest, respect and confidence.

Also, it is important that you ignore all external elements that threaten to interrupt the conversation. For example, instead of answering the phone or reading your cell phone messages as soon as you receive the notification, put your cell phone in “silent” mode. If someone is looking for you, kindly tell them to wait.

Seek feedback and ask questions

To improve your ability to connect with others, it is important that you seek feedback. An effective way of doing this is by asking questions. Questions that point to the knowledge of the other are a good technique, as people love to talk about themselves.

When we give others the opportunity to talk about themselves and actively listen to them, we allow them to open up to us, to share the best of themselves, to show themselves for who they are or how they want to be seen.

Even if you say nothing about yourself or speak little, the other person will feel that they have had an excellent conversation with you. Although he knows almost nothing about you, he will believe he has a lot in common with you.

Remember the names

We have all known people who recognize that they have a bad memory for names, however this is not a good way to connect with others. Even if you are not good at this, you will have to do everything possible to remember the names of the people you know. Remembering the name of the person you are talking to is essential to make them feel important and to be able to create an effective connection.

Calling people by name causes you to send them a message of interest, respect and trust; you make them feel important. And you already know that when people feel important, they are more open and receptive.

“A person’s name is the sweetest and most important sound to her that she can hear.”

(Dale Carnegie)

Don’t try to show that you know everything and worry about others

As we talk to other people, we often want to show that we are well-mannered and knowledgeable. For some, it can be difficult to admit that they are learning something new; this can turn into a barrier when it is time to take advice or improve your skills. If you behave in this way, many may see you as overbearing and utterly lacking in humility.

To get an effective connection it is recommendable, to be aware of your ego and to control your behavior, you need to be willing to learn from others. When you talk to others, don’t try to show that you already know everything.

 Instead of focusing on what you want to demonstrate, focus on concern for the other person, value their words, be encouraging and positive, offer them support or help. Tell him that you appreciate him, that he is important to you and that you care about him. Small details, like remembering a date or asking a question, are an effective way to connect with others.