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Grungy Paper

Overview

  1. How to tell a good story

  2. Supercharge your connection

  3. Strengthen your credibility through values

  4. Compose your story

  5. Get your colleague to tell a story

  6. Tap into his/her values

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REFERENCE

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Deci & Ryan

Shawn Acorn

Pink, Deci

Capra, Senge

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Read More

VALUES

WHY & HOW ?

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Values are a person’s core beliefs that guide his/her decisions  and actions. You can see a person’s true character (values) in   how he/she acts under pressure. The value of Bravery can be seen when a person takes a risk that might lead to failure or embarrassment. The value of Integrity can be seen when a  person shares his honest opinion, even if it’s unpopular.

 

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HOW TO CHOOSE

A VALUE FOR

YOUR STORY

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Ethical

Look at the best examples of how people behave in your organization, behaviors your mom and dad would be proud of. Frequency – look for a behavior that you see in many of your colleagues. It doesn’t have to be a behavior that everyone demonstrates, but there’s enough frequency that you see a pattern

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Successful outcomes

Look for behavior that leads to long-term business success.

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Value

Try to identify the value that lies behind that behavior (e.g. teamwork, passion, honesty, etc.)

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Genuine

Make sure you are choosing this value because you firmly believe in it—not just because it sounds nice—and you have many examples of it from your life.

 

You can learn even more about values in the post series on Leadership

Skating

A SIMPLE STORY STRUCTURE

 

  1. A Challenge you faced

  2. A Choice you made to overcome that challenge

  3. The Outcome of making that choice

Share a Story

Why follow-up is so powerful

 

By following up with your colleague, you show that you are genuinely interested in him or her as a person—not just a cog in a wheel. Following up to see how something went shows your colleague three things:

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  1. You were listening to what he said in the first conversation (it wasn’t just small talk)

  2. It was important enough for you to remember

  3. You care enough to ask about it later

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People are truly impressed by this because it’s not so common at the workplace; it’s more common with family, friends, or other communities of people who really care about one another. As a result, you create a much stronger connection with that person.

Sidebar: Asking “How do you spend most of your time” gives the person a lot of freedom regarding what to talk about. The person usually chooses something that they are more interested in (e.g. a work project, a novel they’re currently reading, or coaching their daughter’s soccer team, etc.), breathing life into the conversation.

End the conversation early

1. Ask “How do you spend most of your time?”

    (L. Lowndes)

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2. Listen carefully to the details, as they can tell you a 

     lot about who the person is: background, interests,

     goals, etc.

 

3. Ask follow-up questions: What does he/she love

     most about the job? How long has his/her

     daughter been playing soccer? etc. This shows the

     person that you’re genuinely engaged (as you

     should be) and that you are interested in him/her

     as a person.

 

4. If you have a similar interest, be sure to mention it.

    This is a great opportunity to build trust. 

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5. Be prepared to share some information about

     what is most important to you (a work project,

     your family, other passions) in case the person

     asks. However, you don’t need to volunteer this

     information if the person doesn’t ask.

 

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Your

colleague´s

story

Don’t expect your colleague to have a personal story ready at hand. This is very uncommon. However, this certainly doesn’t mean your colleague doesn’t have stories to tell. Everyone has a lifetime of great stories, and there is a lot that you can do to elicit those stories from your colleague.

 

The reason for doing this is that it helps you build a stronger connection with your colleague. Not only will you see your colleague on a deeper, more human level, but by getting your colleague to tell you a slightly more personal story, rather than just reciting his/her CV, the conversation becomes more memorable from him/her.

 

This in now way means you should force a story out of your colleague. It’s more of a gentle coaxing. And it’s all about the questions you ask.

 

When you’re colleague starts to tell you about his/her role in the organization, be sure to ask about his background. Some people do this automatically, but it’s good to ask, just in case

 

Listen carefully for what part of your colleague’s background he/she chooses to focus on. This often is an indication of what the person prioritizes. Some people talk about family, some talk about education, some people talk about career. Whatever the person chooses to focus on, ask follow-up questions (e.g. What lead you to make that decision? How did that impact/influence you? How did it feel? What was the outcome?). Follow-up questions show that you are listening and interested in the person.

 

Sometimes, at this stage, the person may already tell you a story. If not, some good questions to encourage som storytelling, “What experiences are you the most proud of?” “What experiences changed your outlook or mindset the most?” Notice that these are not “yes or no,” questions. By not asking “yes or no” questions, you increase the likelihood that the person will give you a more detailed story. It’s also important that you connect these questions to whatever the person has been speaking about. They shouldn’t seem like prepared questions.

 

If the person seems to enjoy telling the stories, it’s always good to ask for details (e.g. When was this? Who else was involved? What exactly did you do? etc.)

 

One more question that’s important to ask is either “Why did you choose to work at this organization/company?” or “What makes you most proud about working here?” These kinds of questions have two purposes: they elicit a positive emotion, and they shift the focus to the community that you and the person belong to.

 

As mentioned earlier, your questions shouldn’t feel like an interrogation. They should all come from a genuine interest. Keep track of time. Even if the person is happy to share a lot of information with you, you don’t want to take up too much of his/her time. You also want to leave some time to tell the person about yourself. Although there’s no need balance it 50/50.

 

The amount of time it takes for you and your colleague to both share information about your respective roles, as well as share stories about your backgrounds can vary quite a lot. People can be extremely different in terms of how much they talk, how much personal information they are comfortable giving to someone they don’t know very well, etc. Just because some gives brief answers, it doesn’t mean he/she isn’t interested in talking with you. That might just be his/her personality.

 

However, the person’s body language can give you a lot of information about whether or not he/she is growing impatient and would like to end the conversation. So pay attention. You never want the other person to feel trapped in a conversation. Many people are too polite to say anything, so you want to give him/her a way out. It is always good to stop and ask if he/she has a bit more time or if he/she needs to end it here. The more you do so, the more his/her motivation to speak with you will increase—now and in the future. If your colleague sees he needs to end the conversation here, DON’T WORRY, this happens. People can be quite stressed at work and it doesn’t mean the conversation was a failure in any way. It may just mean he/she has a lot to do. Thank the person for taking the time to talk, say that it was nice to get to know the person a little, and wish him/her a good day. On the other hand, if your colleague says he’s/she’s happy to keep talking, then feel free to continue.

Mature Man Having Fun

HOW DO YOU

SPEND MOST

OF YOUR TIME?

 

The next step in getting to know the person better is to ask “How do you spend most of your time?” (LL) This question gives the person a lot of freedom regarding what topic to talk about, how general or how specific to be, as well as how much detail to give. In most cases, when you ask people how they spend most of their time, they will be happy to tell you, because the question allows them to talk about something that they want to talk about, which means it’s usually something that they care about. The person may tell you about a work project that he/she is currently working on, a favorite hobby, or his/her family.

 

Listen carefully to the details, as they can tell you a lot about who the person is: his/her background, interests, goals, etc. Be sure to ask follow-up questions: What does he/she love most about the job? How long has his/her daughter been playing basketball? etc. This shows the person that you’re genuinely engaged (as you should be) and that you are interested in him/her as a person.

 

Again, don’t turn it into an interrogation. The person should get to know who you are as well. Often the person will eventually ask you to tell them more about yourself. Be sure to share whatever is most important to you (a work project, your family, other passions).

 

Remember, this is a chat, so don’t overwhelm them. I always think it’s good to default on the side of ending the conversation too early, rather than too late. The main reason for this is because the other person may be too polite to end the conversation, and if he/she feels that you have taken too much of his time, they may steer clear of you in the future. On the other hand, if you end the conversation a bit too early, you leave the person wanting to speak with you more (either because they just enjoy speaking with you, or because they want to hear more about what you are up to).

 

Remember, the main reason for these conversations is that it’s much more pleasant to work in an organization where colleagues spend a bit more time getting to know each other and feel a sense of community, that you are achieving something together. The next time, someone invites you for a cup of coffee, think twice before saying no, or at least suggest another time.

Follow-Up

 

The most important part in building a genuine relationship comes not in the first conversation, but in what happens afterwards. People are so used to “small talk,” in which others politely ask them about their job and what their interests are, that they aren’t blown away by good conversation skills. What truly builds trust with people is how you follow up on the conversation.

 

Let’s say in the first conversation you have with a male colleague, he mentions that his wife is going to have surgery in a couple of days. If you see him a week later, you should ask “how did your wife’s surgery go?” This shows the person three important things about you as a person: that you were listening to what he said in the first conversation, that it was important enough for you to remember, and that you cared enough to ask about it.

 

It doesn’t even need to be as major as surgery. Maybe a female colleague mentions in the first conversation that she will be giving a presentation at a conference. All you have to ask the next time you see her is “how did your presentation go?”

 

The point is that by following up with your colleague, you show that you are genuinely interested in him or her as a person, that it wasn’t just small talk. People are truly impressed by this because it’s not so common at most places of work; it’s only common with family, close friends, or other strong communities.

 

A second benefit of following up this way is that you role model a behavior that spreads. When your colleague here’s you ask about her presentation, it will not only increase the likelihood that she behaves the same way about you, it will also increase the likelihood that she behaves this way towards others. The reason for this is that by showing your colleague that you care about her as a person, you are sending a positive emotion. Research in social psychology and neuroscience shows that emotion is contagious* (S. Johnson, Ashby, Isen). Your colleague may not ask another colleague about how his presentation went, but your colleague is more likely to be friendly, cooperative and helpful towards other colleagues. This strengthens the community.

 

You may not always hear something from your colleague that you can concretely ask about at a later time. That’s okay. Just ask the questions that you didn’t have time to ask the first time. Maybe new questions have come up. It’s also important to vary the topics of discussion, adding different layers to the relationship. Not all questions should be “getting to know you” questions. It’s good to ask more casual questions about the person’s day, weekend, current events, etc.

 

Relationships are built over time, through a series of conversations—long and short, serious and casual. While it is important is that you move the relationship forward, don’t feel rushed. Borrowing from the gardener metaphor again, you can’t force a plant to grow faster. It takes time. It’s also important not to judge yourself. The purpose here is not to become a master conversationalist, or the person that everyone wants to talk to at a party. The purpose is to build genuine relationships. That’s less about skill than about intentions.

 

In fact, the strongest relationships are built on more than conversation alone; they’re built on shared experiences and shared struggles. This is why relationships are so intertwined with community and how well we work together (see Organizing to Influence). Relationships are the foundation of a strong community and good collaboration, and a strong community with good collaboration improves relationships.

Do I have to remember everything?

 

You may have been frightened by the suggestion to ask follow-up questions a week later. For many people this is difficult, due to challenges with memory. Just remembering someone’s name can feel hard, let alone the fact that his wife was going to have surgery. This is okay. There are a lot of people out there who struggle with this. The best thing you can do in such a case is to write the information down somewhere (afterwards of course). You don’t need to record everything, just the highlights: name, role, background, family, interests, important events. Doing so has two benefits: it will increase your listening skills when talking to people, as well as increase your ability to ask follow-up questions. Some people may feel weird keeping a “database” of their colleagues, but if your intention is to build relationships and a community, there is absolutely no reason to feel bad about using a memory aid.

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Summary of

How to Initiate

a Conversation:

 

1. Ask what his/her role is and what the main

responsibilities are

  • Ask follow-up questions

2. Explain your role and what your main responsibilities are

 

3. Share a story about yourself

  • 30-60 seconds

  • should signal your values and align with the organization’s values

4. Ask about his/her background

  • Ask follow-up questions

5. Ask him/her how he/she spends most of his/her time

  • Ask follow-up questions.

6. Share information about how you spend most of

your time (professional and/or private)

 

7. Follow up the next time you see the person

  • Asking about something he/she mentioned earlier (e.g. how did your son’s science project go? How was your wife’s surgery? How did your presentation go? etc.)

Reflection Questions

  • When can you schedule time to talk with colleagues and get to know them?

  • How can you do this with remote colleagues whom you won’t bump into?

  • What can you do to make this into a habit, so that it becomes part of your regular work routine, not just a one-time effort?

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