Word Of the Week #533: Eye Contact
October 22, 2014 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word Of the Week #533: Eye Contact
Eye Contact – connecting with another person without speaking.
What is your first reaction to people who speak to you without making eye contact? Do you trust them? Do they appear to be uncaring? Do you think they are hiding something?
This is #2 of my 7 Simple Steps of Service. Last week I wrote, “If you want to be memorable and develop long lasting relationships, you need to recognize and pay attention to all of the people you come in contact with.”
Did you know that your body language, which includes eye contact, makes up about 55% of your nonverbal message? And it’s five times more powerful than the words you speak! I have always said that if you make eye contact with another person for just one second you will create a connection. Continue that eye contact for three seconds and you will have started a relationship!
Most comments about lack of eye contact are negative or unfavorable. Good communicators and good listeners develop positive eye contact with other people. Eye contact is an important part of being perceived as an honest, sincere, and confident person.
When I first used this WOW over 10 years ago this is what one reader wrote. “After reading this, I made it a point to look at each and every person in my spin class before I started. Several students came up to me at the end and said it was the best class I had taught. WOW to the power of connecting with your eyes.” – Sandra
Then another reader wrote, “In general you are correct about negative perceptions of lack of eye contact, especially in business exchanges – even customers feel slighted and their presence not validated in a retail exchange that lacks eye contact. In our diverse work force and International Business climate I was disappointed that you made no mention that direct eye contact is the Western norm. It is highly disrespectful to First Americans and to individuals with a Far East, Middle Eastern or North African heritage. Even Americans whose ancestor hails back to those cultures may be offended at a gut level even though they have been trained in Western mannerisms. In the business world – putting one’s client or partners at ease is the beginning of building trust. Becoming sensitive and attuned to individual business situations without stereotypical expectations is the key to starting a trust based relationship. We must train ourselves to “see” the person(s) we are working with and not just the situational business at hand.” – Julie
This week focus on making eye contact with everyone that you interact with at work, play or home. Notice if you feel a connection more quickly and how the other person responds. Do you make eye contact with your customers, members, guests and clients when you are the phone or helping someone so they feel acknowledged? Have you ever felt ignored because you were “not seen” by another person?
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Word Of the Week #532: Recognition
October 16, 2014 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word Of the Week #532: Recognition
Recognition – acceptance of an individual as being entitled to consideration or attention.
How many times have you entered a business and not been acknowledged? How does it feel to be ignored? How long is “too long” to make a guest, member, customer or client wait to be served?
I was in Florida last week for the Club Managers Association and thought this would be a good time to revisit my 7 Simple Steps of Service. And #1 is recognition. If you want to be memorable and develop long lasting relationships, you need to recognize and pay attention to all of the people you come in contact with.
First, I suggest you determine how many seconds it should take to recognize your customers, guests, members and clients. When I worked for Houlihan’s back in the 70’s, it was stressed in all of our training the we were to recognize our guests within one minute. Today I would say that is too long! So what is a realistic expectation to strive for? 30 seconds?
Restaurant in Cancun
And secondly, you need to talk about it with your staff so they understand the importance of recognition. The first person your guests, customers, members or clients come in contact with will set the tone of their experience. I believe the quicker we are to recognize people the more positive that experience will be.
I titled my book, “The FUN-Damental Secrets of Service: How to have fun and make your customers feel good about spending their money” because I believe that if you make people feel good about doing business with you they will come back, spend more money, and tell everyone else about you. Positive word of mouth is essential for success in any business. And I am sure you have heard that people will tell more people about a bad experience than a good one!
This week’s focus is on recognition. How much attention are you giving the people that you come in contact with? How many seconds is too long to wait to be served? How does it make you feel when you are recognized immediately?
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