Are you likable? Did you know that the best way to become more likable is by NOT talking? (This is a hard lesson for someone who speaks for a living). But there is a catch; remaining silent is not the answer either. Research suggests that the best way to engage with someone is to get THEM to talk.

When you think about it, this makes perfect sense. Consider this – what does the person that you are having a conversation with care more about – themselves or you? Add to that the fact that the average attention span in the United States is somewhere between 1 and 17 seconds (which means that no one is really listening to anyone today). From this we can conclude that we can no longer assume that just because we are talking that anyone will actually be listening.

However, if YOU are the one who is listening, you really stand apart. It may be the best way to show someone who you are and that you care. In fact, the quickest way to get someone to like you is to pay attention to something that is important to them. The quickest way to turn them off is to tell them all about you – even if they ask.

The reality is, the more you talk, the less people will like you which you just can’t afford. In business today, we all need more people that like us, support us, and will tell others about us.

Check out my video on getting your prospect to pay attention to you. Yes, the video is longer than 17 seconds (actually 1 minute 38 seconds) but hopefully the short amount of time you invest in watching the video will save you hours of time trying to go about approaching prospects in the wrong way.