Growth – Elliott Connection, LLC

The Power of First Impressions

October is the month to focus on the power of first impressions. Last year, I stated that it takes three seconds to form a first impression. Now I read that a 2006 Princeton University study found that it takes a mere one-tenth of a second for us to make judgments about a person based on their facial appearance. That is hardly enough time to plaster a smile on your face! Pretty scary fact, isn’t it?

Though it is difficult to detect many aspects of a person’s personality, researchers found that attractiveness and trustworthiness are the qualities we judge most quickly. I’m certainly not surprised by physical appearance being considered, but trustworthiness as an easy detection is most interesting. With that said, it is clear that we must always be aware that people around us are forming opinions about us, whether or not they know us.

Now I digress into a new and somewhat misunderstood territory of creating first impressions through the power of digital presence. Unless you live in a remote area in some corner of the world with no means of communication, you are out there somewhere on the web. The reality […]

The Power of Listening

Coincidentally, “listening” has been the sermon theme for the past couple of weeks at my church. I’ll leave it to your resourcefulness to determine why listening
has a spiritual significance…

Anyone who has heard me speak or is reading my blogs knows one of my favorite bits of advice is to “be interested, not interesting!” Being able to listen well is a conduit to being able to communicate effectively.

A Strong Leader or Sales Professional is a Good Listener

There are lots of books on the power of listening, but I discovered a blog entitled Leadership & the Power of Listening by Mike Myatt, CEO of N2Growth. “The best leaders are proactive, strategic, and intuitive listeners. They recognize knowledge and wisdom are not gained by talking, but by listening.” They have the uncanny ability to read between the lines and understand what is not said.

The first rule in communication is to seek understanding before seeking to be understood. Communication is not a one-way street. Broadcasting your message ad nauseum will not result in a meaningful conversation, and could very well turn out to be a train wreck in the making. Good leaders must remember that […]