Over the years, I've picked up on different activities and experiences in creating the "network" of people who I spend the most time with - in life and at work. I've found that in the past decade, I've gained significant trust and rapport with the people I don't necessarily spend the most time with - in life OR at work.
Every now and then, say once a year or so, I make a list according to the four following prompts. Consider trying it out sometime...
Who is around me?
What do they ask me about?
What do I ask them?
How do I feel when I walk away?
I remember to this day the first time I did an activity like this. I was staffing a workshop in Seattle, Washington. I was in the back of the room, watching all that was going on, and just started "doodling" in the margins of my notebook.
These questions just rolled out of my mind, onto paper, and then I started filling in the blanks. Well, it's been a few years now, and I can finally say I'm "closer" to having the types of answers I was looking for.
Just a quick note, I did start with the END question. I made a long list (it filled a whole page in my journal) of how I wanted to feel when I walked away from talking with someone. THEN, I answered the rest of the questions.
I believe that this is one of the single most important things I've ever done - as over the course of the past few years I've changed my life...simply by changing the numbers of hours I spend with certain people in my life.
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