Dec 24 2007
Words Don’t Matter
I was in an interesting predicament Saturday. I was at an event, the last seats available at the lunch table were with a group of French people who did not speak english. I relish being in uncomfortable situations at times and this was one of them. I wasn’t about to sit and not interact so I started making eye contact and nodding with the people at the table.
Smile and confident posture do wonders in situations such as these and I discovered that one of them that did speak english apologized for speaking french and explained that the others did not speak english. I said that I figured that out and not for them to worry. Now was my time to get into the conversation, I hijacked the conversation with my number one rule of interactions. Be interested not interesting.
After a couple of questions about their travels and where they are headed, they naturally wanted to ask about me. It is a truism that people will want to know about you if you show a genuine interest in them. After all, you must be special if you find them interesting:) Remember this well, ask open ended questions and relax with confident expecting posture.
So, as I got up to leave, one woman wanted to set me up with her niece in Paris which I may take her up on:) Remember this is a woman that I did not really even talk to expect for some open ended questions I asked her friend who didn’t speak much english.
It just goes to show that non-verbal communication through showing a friendly face, interest, and confidence, you can even impress someone who doesn’t even speak your language.
Your blog is very informative, I have learned so much from it. It is like daily newspaper :). Added to fav’s.