Today I had the great pleasure of interviewing Laura Gisborne, the founder of Powered with Passion, for The Millionaire Woman Club. We had a phenomenal conversation and one of the greatest insights for me was the power of being present in the moment. How many people do you know that are truly present when you speak with them? There are so many distractions and bright shiny objects in the world.
What I mean by truly present is that you are in a conversation with someone and no matter what is going on in the world everything is about the two of you in conversation. I love how Laura said, “Nothing is as important as what is happening in this very moment.” Jack Canfield, co-author of The Success Principles and Sandra Yancey, founder/CEO of eWomen Network, are two people I know that live in the moment that way.
Being present with others, makes a person feel heard, valued, and appreciated. This is a skill that definitely can be learned and a valuable skill to build into your business and life practices. How can I learn how to do this you may ask?
3 Ways to Become More Present with Those You Serve
1. Maintain Eye Contact. I am not telling you to stare deeply into their eyes, but maintain eye contact. Do not look through or over the shoulder of the person you are talking to, stare at the floor, or look around the room to see who else is around.
2. Be an Active Listener. Lean forward and listen not only to the words being spoken but for the complete meaning and emotion. You can learn many things about a person when you do this. You can sense and feel how passionate they are about their businesses, family, and personal life. Nod once in awhile to acknowledge comments or phrases that resonate with you. Don’t forget to smile if appropriate – keep in mind your subject matter.
3. Paraphase, clarify, or ask questions. Summarize key points of what the person has shared with you. Clarify what you perhaps do not understand. Ask questions to dig deeper into a subject area that they are talking to you about. Be wary as you may become so involved in the conversation and lose track of time. Which can be easy to do – this is when you may ask to have a follow up meeting to further discuss the topic at hand. Thank the person for sharing their time with you.
I personally love connecting with people who are fully present. It makes you want to shout, “You GET it!” These are the people I can talk to for hours and learn so much about their passions, dreams, and desires. Not only that, I have always learnt more about myself in the process.
Your business is your purpose! Take time to be PRESENT so you can share the BEST of you with others! Build your relationships and in turn you will build your business.
Being present is so important in all aspects of life. To be fully intentional in engaging with another human being should be common sense. Sadly, it’s not the case as we tend to be a society of go, go, go. I love your tips on active listening.
You are such a gift Debra. I will definitely be sociable and share.
Hugs & Love
Lee xoxox
Debra,
Thank you for this post. What a great reminder it was for me as have a very busy brain that needs wrangling a lot. I am often on to the next thing in my life and it can be very distracting.
I love the tip on paraphrasing as it often clears any misunderstandings right away.
Debra,
Very timely~ and important!! Whether we are with a client, our children, our partner, or a friend, it is so important to be present with them; giving them our full, undivided attention. When we are fully present with someone, they feel it. It sends the message that you view them as important, and you value what they have to say. When we are not fully present, our body language portrays just the opposite. It is so easy in the fast-paced, hectic life, to try to multitask while we communicate with our loved ones. This timely article reminds us of the importance of being fully present. Namaste
Well said Brad. Everyone deserves our presence!
Goodness YES!! This is KEY to building authentic relationships. If only we could all GET this – wouldn’t the world be a better place? We all have a core need to be SEEN and HEARD.
This is one of the central things I teach in my “Parenting from H.E.A.R.T.” classes and workshops. We are usually much better listeners and more present with complete strangers than we are with our family and closest friends!! Thanks for the gift of your presence in the world!
Namaste,
Jer
Thank you Jeri! Authenticity – a buzz word these days but not a new concept. Be yourself – the best YOU you can be.
Hmmm… Jeri, it did strike me as true that we give strangers the gift of our presence but not necessarily those we hold nearest and dearest. I will look at that more in my own life. Thank you.
Debra, I love this article… I remember Dale Carnegie saying that if someone is rambling and taking long to finish it is because they don’t have our full attention. They have to continuously search for words in hopes of being understood.
Thank you for this…
Thanks Farhana. Gift of presence is an very magnetic quality to possess. I know you have it!