Recently I did a workshop on the Art of Networking, where I helped participants figure out the most effective ways to tell their story. After the event, Roger, one of the participants called me saying: “Thank you for the valuable information. Until today I always thought it was my job to tell someone my story and it was up to them to peel it–i.e. figure out if it has something in it for them.”
Does this sound familiar to you? Have you had people in your life (your college professor, boss, colleague, your spouse) dump information on you and expect you to figure out what is relevant and then ask questions?
How often have you heard: “I am a software engineer” or “I sell copiers for a living” or “I work on SQL programs for the OEM partners in the mobile technology space…” These introductions are information rich and connection poor, expecting the audience to decipher its significance.
I teach people to overcome this Curse of Knowledge, but hearing Roger describe it, I had to laugh with delight, for he just presented me with a gift of a VERY powerful visual–the visual of peeling an onion!
If you have ever peeled an onion, what do you inevitably do?
That’s right — you CRY!
And yet, what we often do in a networking situation is hand someone OUR onion of information and expect them to peel it apart. How realistic is this expectation?
So what is one to do in a networking situation?
Start from the listener’s point of view in mind!
Ask yourself, do they care what you do? If so in what way?
“Peel” your onion of information and “sauté” it ahead of time so your audience gets to enjoy it without the tears.
Let me give you an example. I was at a Superbowl party this weekend and when asked about what he does, one of the guests, Alex, said “I am a software engineer.”
OK, I thought, so are the other twenty people at this Issaquah party. So I decided to take the plunge and “peel” his onion. After more than 5 minutes of probing I found the message that is audience-centric, intriguing and memorable. Alex agreed.
“Alex, so what do you do?” I said, pretending we were doing it for the first time. Alex smiled and with a satisfied grin said “I design flight simulators for Lockheed Martin’s latest fighter plane!”
WOW! Compare that opening with : “I am a software engineer” There is no contest.
So take the time and think about the onion of information that you often hand to your audience and see if you can “peel the onion” ahead of time so that your audience finds your message powerful, intriguing and memorable.
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