Do you talk too much?

Maybe you do. Maybe you don’t. Use this 1-minute “traffic light” rule to improve your prospecting.

I hate to be the one to break it to you but we’re really not as interesting as we would like to think. We all want to share stories and experiences but not everyone is interested. The sooner we realize that, the faster we can prospect more people in less time.

Career Coach Marty Nemko has what he calls the “Traffic Light Rule” as it relates to conversation. He says you have approximately 1 minute to get your point across before turning the conversation over to the other person.

Nemko says..

“During the first 30 seconds of an utterance, your light is green. Your listener is probably paying attention.

“During the second 30 seconds, your light is yellow. Your listener may be starting to wish you’d finish already.

“After the 1-minute mark, your light is red.”

“Yes there are times when you should run a red light – when your listener is obviously fully engaged.”

We all love to talk about ourselves and be the center of attention in a conversation. We get pleasure from this. It’s addicting. However it’s not addicting to our listeners.

Pay attention to your prospect. The more you can get them to talk about themselves, the more you can listen and learn about whether they’re right for your business or not. The faster you do that, the faster you sort through more people in less time.

Thanks for reading.

To your success,