A concept in the sales world is KISS vs. KILL - “keeping it short and simple” vs. “keeping it long and lengthy.”
Talking Points:
- A concept in the sales world is KISS vs. KILL – “keeping it short and simple” vs. “keeping it long and lengthy.” Amateur salespeople often KILL their sale by going on and on about unimportant details. Good salespeople hit all the important points as quickly as possible and close the deal (KISS). Here are seven tips to help you KISS, not KILL and achieve better communication.
- Be efficient with your speech. Conversation is about quality, not quantity. Be aware of and remove filler words like “um, like, I guess, well, you know” etc. They mean nothing and bring no value to the conversation.
- Don’t be afraid to take pauses rather than relying on filler words as a crutch. Pauses can be powerful and can emphasize different parts of a message.
- Use conversational threading. Within any sentence or bit of conversation, there are different conversations or topics you can branch off into. When a conversation dies, it’s usually because there are no other interesting topics to talk about.
- Entering “interview mode” and asking too many questions without letting the other person ask you questions can be off-putting.
- Use statement instead of questions. When you make statements, you share information about yourself. Think about what you and your close friends say to one another when you’re together.
- The cold read statement is an observation you make about someone. You can say, “Hey, you look like a fun person. What sort of hobbies do you have?” The person can respond in several ways, which helps the conversation move forward.
- The random statement is a comment on anything going on. They bring creativity and spontaneity to the conversation.
Discussion:
- Initial reactions to this topic? What jumped out at you?
- If you had to rate your conversation skills on a scale of 1-10, what score would you give yourself and why?
- Share about a time when you felt you easily and naturally connected with someone in communication. What made it an easy/pleasant experience?
- Share about a time when you seriously miscommunicated with someone. What happened, and why?
- Who is an efficient communicator you can think of? What makes their communication style so memorable?
- Have you ever been in a conversation that seemed to go nowhere? How could conversation threading have helped?
- Have you ever met someone who asks question after question but never shares anything about themselves? Describe the experience and your thoughts about the person.
- Do you think it’s true that we tend to make more statements than questions around people we know and trust, like close friends or family? Explain.
- Out of humor, storytelling, and deep conversations, what do you prefer most? Why?
- Which of these tips do you most need to apply to become a better communicator?
- Is there a step you need to take based on today’s topic?
