I recently led a session with some of WSP in New Zealand’s client leaders. Delivering a great client experience is at the heart of what WSP does, which is why we explored the role that human connection plays in building the foundations for excellent experiences.
A helpful point came up during one of our group conversations:
📦 It’s easy to put connection building in a box 📦
This happens when we relegate building a connection to the “personal stuff”, often at the start of the conversation. You know, the part of the conversation where we discuss sports, kids and the weekend.
This is totally understandable - and can be helpful - as we focus on rapport-building at the start of a conversation.
But there is a risk, too.
If we limit connection to the “personal stuff”, we can:
▶︎ Be thrown off when there’s no appetite or bandwidth for small talk
▶︎ Overlook the frequent opportunities to build connections on the “work stuff”
▶︎ Miss chances to deepen our understanding of what our client really wants and needs
So, it’s essential to look out for the moments to connect over the “work stuff”… which are more frequent than we think. By focusing on going a bit deeper with our questions and a bit deeper with our listening, we can cultivate some meaningful connections in our conversations.
As noted by the WSPers in the room, these connections are often where we experience joy in our work - the camaraderie with our clients and colleagues that is the icing on our work experiences.
What could you do today to build a stronger connection with a colleague or client?
Comments