What one word do you need to replace in your conversations?

Time to listen to yourself. When speaking with a prospect, customer, or colleague how many times do you say “but…”. I was recently working with a client rehearsing a sales conversation. We were catching every time she said “but” and simply replaced it with “and”. The tone, meaning and her expertise were delivered more positively with that one small change. By saying “but” she was inferring a limit to her expertise instead of demonstrating her ability to deliver. For example listen to “I can write your policy today but I will need to give it to our underwriting team to review.” and “I can write your policy today and give it to our underwriting team to review.” Which are you more likely to say yes to? Which sounds more confident?

What does this have to do with improv comedy?

Improv comedy success is about dealing with the unexpected and counter arguments. One of the first principles improv comedians learn is “Yes… And...“.

This is a great technique for dealing with objections and what we might perceive as objections which are really a prospect’s request for more information. “Yes …And..” can also be used with exploring possibilities with your team members. If you would like to learn more, book a session with me.