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Conversation Style: Are You Marathoner or Sprinter?

Some people are conversation marathoners. They talk and talk. They go through all the details and don’t yield until they get to their finish line. Others may see this as delivering a monologue. They may feel trapped and become annoyed or disinterested.

Others are conversation sprinters. They tend to speak the main points and get to it quickly. Sometimes this leaves others confused. They want more detail to understand the story.

When conversing with others, how do you come across? Do people wonder if you will ever let them into the conversation? Or are you quick and concise but not always clear?

Conversation: Are You a Marthoner or a Sprinter? Image by Sean MacEntee via Flickr.

Grateful for image by Sean MacEntee via Flickr Creative Commons License.

Conversation Style: Can You Adapt for Better Results?

When I ask this question to people skills workshop participants, they often say, “it depends.” I press them a little more. I ask them: “More often than not, do you let people into the conversation along the way? Or make them wait until you have gone through everything you want to say?”

My point is that being flexible and adapting to other’s needs and styles breeds success. In business and careers, you don’t get to the finish line alone. Rigidly holding on to your own conversation style will hurt your success.

For Great Conversations

• Know your natural conversation style.
• Spot other’s conversation styles through tone of voice, pace, and body language.
• Modify your behavior. Accommodate other’s needs. Rigid extremes are a turnoff and drive others away.

Related Posts:
People Skills Smarts: Communicate or Become Irrelevant
People Skills Secret Revealed for Introverts & Extroverts

©2016 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. I appreciate your sharing the link to this post on your social streams. However, if you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please email info@katenasser.com for permission and guidelines. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.

Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading change, employee engagement, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.

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~Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™

Tags: Career, collaboration, communication, conversation, interaction, interpersonal skills, listening, people skills, Soft Skills