The Best Conversations Aren't About You
Have you ever noticed how easy it is to wait for your turn to talk?
Someone starts telling a story...
And before they're even finished...
We're already thinking about what we're going to say next.
I've learned that listening and waiting to speak are not the same thing.
For a long time, I thought having a good conversation meant having something interesting to say.
The longer we build this business, the more I realize the best conversations usually happen when we become genuinely interested in someone else's story.
Not our own.
Conversations aren't competitions.
They're not opportunities to prove how much we know.
They're opportunities to understand another person.
People can usually tell the difference between someone who's listening...
...and someone who's simply waiting for their turn to talk.
I've found that some of the best customer conversations I've ever had weren't the ones where I spent the most time explaining what we do.
They were the ones where I asked enough questions to understand what mattered most to them.
Because every customer has a goal.
Every business has a vision.
Every person has a reason behind what they're building.
When we take time to understand that, we stop selling products.
We start solving problems.
This isn't just true in business.
It's true in marriage.
Parenting.
Friendships.
Leadership.
Community.
Sometimes the greatest way to add value to a conversation is to ask one more question instead of telling one more story.
I've realized that every person I meet knows something I don't.
They've experienced something I haven't.
They've overcome challenges I may never fully understand.
That's one of the reasons I never want to stop asking questions.
I never want to stop listening.
I never want to stop learning.
The longer we build this business, the more I realize the best conversations rarely leave me impressed with myself.
They leave me grateful that someone trusted me enough to share a piece of their story.
— Ruben Escalona
Red Alpha Custom Prints
What Healthy Actually Looks Like
Healthy relationships are built by people who listen with genuine curiosity. When we stop trying to impress people and start trying to understand them, conversations become opportunities to build trust instead of simply exchange words.
Because one of the greatest gifts you can give another person isn't having all the right answers. It's making them feel heard.