Took me 3 client meetings to realize I was talking too much

I used to think being a good communicator meant filling every silence with talking points and explanations. But after a meeting with a contractor in Austin last Tuesday, he literally set a timer on his phone and said 'I'll give you 5 minutes, then I have questions.' I realized I had been rambling to prove I knew my stuff. Now I shut up after I give the key info and let them respond. It's amazing how much better the conversations go when I let the other person steer half the time. Has anyone else found that clients actually trust you more when you talk less?

3 comments

3 Comments

kim_mason5511d ago

Did you catch that Harvard study about how doctors who interrupt less get sued less?

wesley63912d ago

Hold up, the contractor literally set a timer on his phone? That is wild. I would have been so thrown off by that, but honestly it sounds like he did you a favor. I had a similar wake up call when a client just stood up and walked to the door mid sentence. That moment hit hard. You are spot on about trust too. When I stopped dumping every detail I knew, clients started asking me better questions and actually listened to my answers. It is counterintuitive but staying quiet makes you look more confident, not less.

gray31412d ago

@wesley639 that client walking out mid sentence is brutal but it kinda sounds like a good thing in disguise. I had a guy once just start scrolling his phone while I was talking and I just stopped mid word. He looked up and said "oh you done?" and I said "yep" and walked out. Never felt more free honestly.